Underscore prefix for property and method names in

Question

Is the underscore prefix in JavaScript only a convention, like for example in Python private class methods are?

From the 2.7 Python documentation:

“Private” instance variables that cannot be accessed except from inside an object don’t exist in Python. However, there is a convention that is followed by most Python code: a name prefixed with an underscore (e.g. _spam) should be treated as a non-public part of the API (whether it is a function, a method or a data member).

Does this also apply to JavaScript?

Take for example this JavaScript code:

function AltTabPopup() {
    this._init();
}

AltTabPopup.prototype = {
    _init : function() {
        ...
    }
}

Also, underscore prefixed variables are used.

    ...
    this._currentApp = 0;
    this._currentWindow = -1;
    this._thumbnailTimeoutId = 0;
    this._motionTimeoutId = 0;
    ...

Only conventions? Or is there more behind the underscore prefix?

---

I admit my question is quite similar to this question, but it didn't make one smarter about the significance of the underscore prefix in JavaScript.

Answer 1

JavaScript actually does support encapsulation, through a method that involves hiding members in closures (Crockford). That said, it's sometimes cumbersome, and the underscore convention is a pretty good convention to use for things that are sort of private, but that you don't actually need to hide.

Answer 2

It should be pointed out that there is a JS library called underscore. When using that library the _ prefix does have significance.

http://underscorejs.org/

Answer 3

That's only a convention. The Javascript language does not give any special meaning to identifiers starting with underscore characters.

That said, it's quite a useful convention for a language that doesn't support encapsulation out of the box. Although there is no way to prevent someone from abusing your classes' implementations, at least it does clarify your intent, and documents such behavior as being wrong in the first place.

Answer 4

import/export is now doing the job with ES6. I still tend to prefix not exported functions with _ if most of my functions are exported.

If you export only a class (like in angular projects), it's not needed at all.

export class MyOpenClass{

    open(){
         doStuff()
         this._privateStuff()
         return close();
    }

    _privateStuff() { /* _ only as a convention */} 

}

function close(){ /*... this is really private... */ }

Answer 5

JSDoc 3 allows you to annotate your functions with the @access private (previously the @private tag) which is also useful for broadcasting your intent to other developers - http://usejsdoc.org/tags-access.html

Answer 6

"Only conventions? Or is there more behind the underscore prefix?"

Apart from privacy conventions, I also wanted to help bring awareness that the underscore prefix is also used for arguments that are dependent on independent arguments, specifically in URI anchor maps. Dependent keys always point to a map.

Example ( from https://github.com/mmikowski/urianchor ) :

$.uriAnchor.setAnchor({ page : 'profile', _page : { uname : 'wendy', online : 'today' } });

The URI anchor on the browser search field is changed to:

#!page=profile:uname,wendy|online,today

This is a convention used to drive an application state based on hash changes.