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Version: 3.27.2

Function.prototype.toString()

The toString() method returns a string representing the source code of the specified Function.

Syntax

toString()

Return value

A string representing the source code of the function.

Description

The Function object overrides the toString() method inherited from Object; it does not inherit Object.prototype.toString(). For user-defined Function objects, the toString method returns a string containing the source text segment which was used to define the function.

JavaScript calls the toString method automatically when a Function is to be represented as a text value, e.g. when a function is concatenated with a string.

The toString() method will throw a TypeError exception ("Function.prototype.toString called on incompatible object"), if its this value object is not a Function object.

Function.prototype.toString.call('foo'); // throws TypeError

If the toString() method is called on built-in function objects, a function created by Function.prototype.bind(), or other non-JavaScript functions, then toString() returns a native function string which looks like

"function someName() { [native code] }"

For intrinsic object methods and functions, someName is the initial name of the function; otherwise its content may be implementation-defined, but will always be in property name syntax, like [1 + 1], someName, or 1.

Note: This means using eval() on native function strings is a guaranteed syntax error.

If the toString() method is called on a function created by the Function constructor, toString() returns the source code of a synthesized function declaration named "anonymous" using the provided parameters and function body. For example, Function("a", "b", "return a + b").toString() will return:

"function anonymous(a,b\n) {\nreturn a + b\n}"

Since ES2018, the spec requires the return value of toString() to be the exact same source code as it was declared, including any whitespace and/or comments — or, if the host doesn't have the source code available for some reason, requires returning a native function string. Support for this revised behavior can be found in the compatibility table.