javascript using global variables

Question

can't seem to get this to work.

 var current_times = new Date();
 var future_times = new Date();

 function time(){
 current_times = current_times.setMinutes(current_times.getMinutes());
 future_times = future_times.setMinutes(future_times.getMinutes() + 1);     
 }

error im getting is: current_times.getMinutes is not a function

note sure this helps, but the time function is called from a function which is initiated on body load.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this code. What browser are you using? As I anticipated, I cannot reproduce the problem in Chrome. — kqnr
– kqnr, Commented Apr 12, 2011 at 0:03
1. The specific code you pasted works. 2. Don't setMinute to getMinutes(). Why would you do that?! — Khez
– Khez, Commented Apr 12, 2011 at 0:04

David Tang · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-12 00:13:43Z

5

The problem is that setMinutes returns a number, not a Date object.

The function will work the first time you call it, but on the second call current_times and future_times will be numbers, and hence won't have the getMinutes function. Since setMinutes() modifies the Date object instead of producing a new one, the solution is to not reassign your variables.

Furthermore, if I understand your intentions correctly, your code can be simplified to:

var current_times, future_times = new Date();

function time() {
    current_times = new Date();
    future_times.setMinutes(current_times.getMinutes() + 1);
}

edited Apr 12, 2011 at 0:13

answered Apr 12, 2011 at 0:08

David Tang

93.8k32 gold badges169 silver badges149 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Khez Over a year ago

good catch, I was thinking that maybe he was declaring those variables in a namespace and nullifying their globalness.

Mhmd · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-12 00:13:34Z

0

the code is right but as Box9 typed code

you must assign variables inside the function to be like that'

function time() {
     var current_times = new Date();
     var future_times = new Date();

     current_times = current_times.setMinutes(current_times.getMinutes());
     future_times = future_times.setMinutes(future_times.getMinutes() + 1);     

     document.write(current_times);
     document.write("<br>"+future_times);
}

answered Apr 12, 2011 at 0:13

Mhmd

5,1873 gold badges24 silver badges29 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

javascript using global variables

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Related