The javascript, when run through JSLint yells at me and I am not sure why.
/*jslint browser: true, devel: true, evil: true, undef: true, nomen: true, eqeqeq: true, plusplus: true, bitwise: true, newcap: true, immed: true */
var foo = function() {
try {
console.log('foo');
} catch(e) {
alert(e);
}
try {
console.log('bar');
} catch(e) {
alert(e);
}
};
foo();
It tells me:
Problem at line 12 character 11: 'e' is already defined.
} catch(e) {
It appears to be upset that I have a second catch(e)
. Why would this be an issue? Does it not simply set e to local variable inside the catch block? Do I need to uniquely name the local variables for all trapped errors in a function?
To JSLint, try..catch
has the implicit effect of declaring e
as a local variable. Because you have two such blocks within the same function (there is no block scope in JavaScript), JSLint sees that as declaring a variable that has already been declared.
Naming the variables e1
, e2
, etc. would prevent this warning from JSLint. Is it really a problem though? The ECMAScript 5 specification, section 12.14, says "No matter how control leaves the Block the LexicalEnvironment is always restored to its former state." This, in fact, does appear to be the case:
try {
throw new Error("testing 1234");
} catch(fooBarBaz){
alert("Catch: " + fooBarBaz); // works
}
alert(fooBarBaz); // throws exception
So, to conclude, this is simply a limitation of JSLint and is unlikely to lead to any practical problem.
Try to use a different variable, maybe its getting confused because e is usually reserved for event handlers.
The JSLint I use shows no error at all - and logical your code is correct.
Use a different variable for each try / catch.
JSLint might simply be wrong here. According to the ECMAScript spec, entering a catch
block creates a new scope inside which the exception variable is defined. In your example, e
is valid only inside the catch
block and is not defined outside. There is no redefinition here.