Can you explain the purpose of using the 'apply' method in this particular implementation of memoization in JavaScript?

_.memoize = function(func) {
  var cache = []; 
  return function(n){
    if(cache[n]){
        return cache[n];
    }
    cache[n] = func.apply(this,arguments);
    return cache[n];
  }
};

I'm curious about the usage of 'this' in func.apply. Can anyone explain what it is referring to in this context?

Answer №1

The function memoize creates a new function that stores the results in a cache, if the same function call with the same first parameter (e.g. `1`) has been previously made.

The function#apply method requires two arguments:

  1. The current context (referred to as `this` within your function)
  2. An array or array-like object containing the arguments you want to pass in.

In JavaScript, `this` represents the execution context of a function. Using it with `apply` ensures that the memoized function retains its functionality similar to a regular JS function.

Here are a few examples:

var a = function(number) {
    console.log(this);
}

var b = _.memoize(a);

a(1); // `this` refers to window
b(1); // `this` also refers to window

a.call({ test: true }); // `this` refers to { test: true }
b.call({ test: true }); // `this` still refers to { test: true }

If you were to pass `null` instead of `this` as the first argument for `func.apply`...

cache[n] = func.apply(null, arguments);

...the function would not work correctly anymore:

a(1); // `this` refers to window
b(1); // `this` still refers to window

a.call({ test: true }); // `this` refers to { test: true }
b.call({ test: true }); // `this` now refers back to window

In strict mode, `this` would always be `null` for function `b`.

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