JavaScript - Accessing Private Instance Variable from Prototype Method

Question

[Yes, I have read several answers to similar questions, but didn't really get the answer I'm looking for, so I'm going to ask my question anyway.]

In the code below, how can I place the methods setSecret and tellSecret in Secret's prototype while still maintaining access to the private instance variable _secret, and also producing the same output?

I tried this (see jsbin ) which placed the methods in the prototype, but changed the output.

function Secret() {

    // ===== private =====

    var _secret;

    // ===== public =====

    this.setSecret = function (secret) {
        _secret = secret;
    };

    this.tellSecret = function () {
        console.log(_secret);
    };
}

var secretA = new Secret();
var secretB = new Secret();

secretA.setSecret("AAA");
secretB.setSecret("BBB");

setTimeout(function () {
    console.log("Secret A");
    secretA.tellSecret();

    console.log("Secret B");
    secretB.tellSecret();
}, 1000);


// ===== output =====

Secret A
AAA
Secret B
BBB

Answer 1

Simply put, you shouldn't use private variables with prototype methods. Trying to mix the two requires awful workarounds, and there are better alternatives.
Here's an explanation why. (This is an excerpt from a similar answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/21522742/272072 )

Prototypal Methods

In JavaScript, prototype methods allows multiple instances to share a prototype method, rather than each instance having its own method.
The drawback is that this is the only thing that's different each time the prototype method is called.
Therefore, any "private" fields must be accessible through this , which means they must also be publicly accessible. So, the best we can do is to stick to naming conventions for _private fields.

Mixing with Private Variables

When you use a closure to create a private variable, you cannot access it from a prototypal method unless it's exposed through the this variable. Most solutions, therefore, just expose the variable through method, which means that you're exposing it publicly one way or another.

Just use conventions for _private fields

So, I think using _private fields makes the most sense, even though they're still public. It makes debugging easier, provides transparency, could improve performance, and so that's what I usually use.
Stick to conventions for _private fields and everything goes great.
And I just don't understand why JS developers try SO hard to make fields truly private.

Answer 2

this one is related to Alon's answer, but by implementing a WeakMap, doesn't reveal an identifying index and won't accumulate un-used objects. While a better solution in terms of efficiency, it's not as good an answer in terms of compatibility. WeakMaps are supported in FireFox and Chrome and Node.JS, so i feel they are worth mentioning.

see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/WeakMap for more info.

var Secret = (function(){

   var secrets=new WeakMap();

  function Secret() {

    // ===== private =====

    secrets.set(this, null);

   // ===== public =====

   }

    Secret.prototype.setSecret = function (secret) {
       secrets.set(this, secret);
    };

    Secret.prototype.tellSecret = function () {
        console.log(secrets.get(this));
    };


   return Secret;

}());


var secretA = new Secret();
var secretB = new Secret();

secretA.setSecret("AAA");
secretB.setSecret("BBB");

setTimeout(function () {
    console.log("Secret A", secretA  );
    secretA.tellSecret();

    console.log("Secret B", secretB );
    secretB.tellSecret();
}, 1000);

Answer 3

This is an incredibly ugly solution, and you probably shouldn't use it, but it works. Based on this answer .

var Secret = (function () {
    var instance = 0,
        p = [];

    function Secret() {
        this.i = instance++;
        p[this.i] = {};
        p[this.i]._secret = null;
    }

    Secret.prototype.setSecret = function (secret) {
        p[this.i]._secret = secret;
    };

    Secret.prototype.tellSecret = function () {
        console.log(p[this.i]._secret);
    };

    return Secret;
})();

var secret = new Secret();
secret.setSecret("A");

var secret2 = new Secret();
secret2.setSecret("B");

console.log(secret._secret)  // => undefined

secret.tellSecret()          // => A
secret2.tellSecret()         // => B

Answer 4

Try this, and tell me if it's what you search.
To make more interesting the snippet I added more 2 private properties to your object Secret
(Note that all your private vars are really private)

 function Secret() { // ===== private ===== var _properties = { secret:null, secret2:null, secret3:null } // <-- Put all yours properties here // ===== public ===== this.getset = function(PROP, V) { if(typeof V !== "undefined") _properties[PROP]=V; return _properties[PROP]; } } // Create GETTER & SETTER for each of yours properties MAKE_GET_SET(Secret, "secret", true, true); // get and set MAKE_GET_SET(Secret, "secret2", true, true); // only set MAKE_GET_SET(Secret, "secret3", true, false); // only get /* === "Magic function" ;-) to create new properties's GETTER & SETTER ============= */ function MAKE_GET_SET(OBJ, PROPNAME, makeGET /* boolean */, makeSET /* boolean */) { Object.defineProperty( OBJ.prototype, PROPNAME, { get: function() { return makeGET ? this.getset(PROPNAME) : null; }, set: function(V) { if(makeSET) this.getset(PROPNAME,V); }, enumerable: true } ); } /* ================================================================================= */ var secretA = new Secret(); var secretB = new Secret(); secretA.secret = "AAA"; // <-- here use setter secretB.secret = "BBB"; // <-- here use setter setTimeout(function () { console.log("Secret A: "+secretA.secret); // <-- here use getter console.log("Secret B: "+secretB.secret); // <-- here use getter }, 1000); /* ===== output ===== Secret A: AAA Secret B: BBB ===== output ===== */