What is the difference between call and apply?

Question

What is the difference between using call and apply to invoke a function?

var func = function() {
  alert('hello!');
};

func.apply(); vs func.call();

Are there performance differences between the two aforementioned methods? When is it best to use call over apply and vice versa?

Answer 1

Here's a small-ish post, I wrote on this:

http://sizeableidea.com/call-versus-apply-javascript/

var obj1 = { which : "obj1" },
obj2 = { which : "obj2" };

function execute(arg1, arg2){
    console.log(this.which, arg1, arg2);
}

//using call
execute.call(obj1, "dan", "stanhope");
//output: obj1 dan stanhope

//using apply
execute.apply(obj2, ["dan", "stanhope"]);
//output: obj2 dan stanhope

//using old school
execute("dan", "stanhope");
//output: undefined "dan" "stanhope"

Answer 2

Even though call and apply achive the same thing, I think there is atleast one place where you cannot use call but can only use apply. That is when you want to support inheritance and want to call the constructor.

Here is a function allows you to create classes which also supports creating classes by extending other classes.

function makeClass( properties ) {
    var ctor = properties['constructor'] || function(){}
    var Super = properties['extends'];
    var Class = function () {
                 // Here 'call' cannot work, only 'apply' can!!!
                 if(Super)
                    Super.apply(this,arguments);  
                 ctor.apply(this,arguments);
                }
     if(Super){
        Class.prototype = Object.create( Super.prototype );
        Class.prototype.constructor = Class;
     }
     Object.keys(properties).forEach( function(prop) {
           if(prop!=='constructor' && prop!=='extends')
            Class.prototype[prop] = properties[prop];
     });
   return Class; 
}

//Usage
var Car = makeClass({
             constructor: function(name){
                         this.name=name;
                        },
             yourName: function() {
                     return this.name;
                   }
          });
//We have a Car class now
 var carInstance=new Car('Fiat');
carInstance.youName();// ReturnsFiat

var SuperCar = makeClass({
               constructor: function(ignore,power){
                     this.power=power;
                  },
               extends:Car,
               yourPower: function() {
                    return this.power;
                  }
              });
//We have a SuperCar class now, which is subclass of Car
var superCar=new SuperCar('BMW xy',2.6);
superCar.yourName();//Returns BMW xy
superCar.yourPower();// Returns 2.6

Answer 3

The difference is that apply lets you invoke the function with arguments as an array; call requires the parameters be listed explicitly. A useful mnemonic is "A for array and C for comma."

See MDN's documentation on apply and call.

Pseudo syntax:

theFunction.apply(valueForThis, arrayOfArgs)

theFunction.call(valueForThis, arg1, arg2, ...)

There is also, as of ES6, the possibility to spread the array for use with the call function, you can see the compatibilities here.

Sample code:

function theFunction(name, profession) {
    console.log("My name is " + name + " and I am a " + profession +".");
}
theFunction("John", "fireman");
theFunction.apply(undefined, ["Susan", "school teacher"]);
theFunction.call(undefined, "Claude", "mathematician");
theFunction.call(undefined, ...["Matthew", "physicist"]); // used with the spread operator

Answer 4

K. Scott Allen has a nice writeup on the matter.

Basically, they differ on how they handle function arguments.

The apply() method is identical to call(), except apply() requires an array as the second parameter. The array represents the arguments for the target method."

So:

// assuming you have f
function f(message) { ... }
f.call(receiver, "test");
f.apply(receiver, ["test"]);

Answer 5

Another example with Call, Apply and Bind. The difference between Call and Apply is evident, but Bind works like this:

1. Bind returns an instance of a function that can be executed
2. First Parameter is 'this'
3. Second parameter is a Comma separated list of arguments (like Call)

}

function Person(name) {
    this.name = name; 
}
Person.prototype.getName = function(a,b) { 
     return this.name + " " + a + " " + b; 
}

var reader = new Person('John Smith');

reader.getName = function() {
   // Apply and Call executes the function and returns value

   // Also notice the different ways of extracting 'getName' prototype
   var baseName = Object.getPrototypeOf(this).getName.apply(this,["is a", "boy"]);
   console.log("Apply: " + baseName);

   var baseName = Object.getPrototypeOf(reader).getName.call(this, "is a", "boy"); 
   console.log("Call: " + baseName);

   // Bind returns function which can be invoked
   var baseName = Person.prototype.getName.bind(this, "is a", "boy"); 
   console.log("Bind: " + baseName());
}

reader.getName();
/* Output
Apply: John Smith is a boy
Call: John Smith is a boy
Bind: John Smith is a boy
*/

Answer 6

While this is an old topic, I just wanted to point out that .call is slightly faster than .apply. I can't tell you exactly why.

See jsPerf, http://jsperf.com/test-call-vs-apply/3

---

[UPDATE!]

Douglas Crockford mentions briefly the difference between the two, which may help explain the performance difference... http://youtu.be/ya4UHuXNygM?t=15m52s

Apply takes an array of arguments, while Call takes zero or more individual parameters! Ah hah!

.apply(this, [...])

.call(this, param1, param2, param3, param4...)