Clientside database and return from function

[Publicus]

Yesterday I started looking into clientside database handling with html5 and localstorage. I've been trying for hours to make a function like the one below, but I can't figure out how to return the name variable. Any ideas?

function hent_kontakt_navn(var1, var2) {
	var db = MYDB;
	db.transaction(function (tx) {
	   tx.executeSql('SELECT * FROM db_kontakter WHERE field1=\'' + var1 + '\' AND field2=\'' + var2 + '\' LIMIT 1', [], function (tx, results) {
	   var len = results.rows.length, i;
	   for (i = 0; i < len; i++){
	      var fornavn = results.rows.item(i).fornavn;
	      var etternavn = results.rows.item(i).etternavn;
	      var navn = fornavn + ' ' + etternavn;
alert(navn); //This works and alerts the correct value
	   }
	 }, null);
	});
	return navn; //But this one returns undefined. I know variables don't pass like this between functions, but how can I make it work so that the function returns this var?
}

[Philip M]

The variable navn declared with the var keyword is local to your anonymous function. Delete the var keyword to make it global scope.

All advice is supplied packaged by intellectual weight, and not by volume. Contents may settle slightly in transit.

[webdev1958]

try

return db.navn

[Publicus]

Thanks - I tried both but none of them are working. When using db.navn it returns "undefined".

[blaze4218]

In order to make your variable global you should declare it outside of an anonymous function

function hent_kontakt_navn(var1, var2) {
	var db = MYDB , navn;  // Not global, but I think this is what you want 
	db.transaction(function (tx) {
	   tx.executeSql('SELECT * FROM db_kontakter WHERE field1=\'' + var1 + '\' AND field2=\'' + var2 + '\' LIMIT 1', [], function (tx, results) {
	   var len = results.rows.length, i;
	   for (i = 0; i < len; i++){
	      var fornavn = results.rows.item(i).fornavn;
	      var etternavn = results.rows.item(i).etternavn;
	      navn = fornavn + ' ' + etternavn;
alert(navn); //This works and alerts the correct value
	   }
	 }, null);
	});
	return navn; //But this one returns undefined. I know variables don't pass like this between functions, but how can I make it work so that the function returns this var?
}

[Publicus]

Thanks again - I tried but still the variable navn is undefined. I've been searching around and I cannot find a way to make a variable set inside a function be available outside it.

So then the question is: How can I transfer this value (navn) so that it's returned like I want in the script?

[blaze4218]

Originally Posted by Publicus

I've been searching around and I cannot find a way to make a variable set inside a function be available outside it.

That's because you can't. You are on the right track: you are returning the variable from the function. I wonder though, are you storing the returned value?

Does your code look like this

function hent_kontakt_navn(var1, var2) {
	var db = MYDB , navn;
	db.transaction(function (tx) {
	   tx.executeSql('SELECT * FROM db_kontakter WHERE field1=\'' + var1 + '\' AND field2=\'' + var2 + '\' LIMIT 1', [], function (tx, results) {
	   var len = results.rows.length, i;
	   for (i = 0; i < len; i++){
	      var fornavn = results.rows.item(i).fornavn;
	      var etternavn = results.rows.item(i).etternavn;
	          navn = fornavn + ' ' + etternavn;
alert(navn); //This works and alerts the correct value
	   }
	 }, null);
	});
	return navn; //But this one returns undefined. I know variables don't pass like this between functions, but how can I make it work so that the function returns this var?
}
alert(navn) //this won't work

or does your code look like this

function hent_kontakt_navn(var1, var2) {
	var db = MYDB , navn;
	db.transaction(function (tx) {
	   tx.executeSql('SELECT * FROM db_kontakter WHERE field1=\'' + var1 + '\' AND field2=\'' + var2 + '\' LIMIT 1', [], function (tx, results) {
	   var len = results.rows.length, i;
	   for (i = 0; i < len; i++){
	      var fornavn = results.rows.item(i).fornavn;
	      var etternavn = results.rows.item(i).etternavn;
	          navn = fornavn + ' ' + etternavn;
alert(navn); //This works and alerts the correct value
	   }
	 }, null);
	});
	return navn; //But this one returns undefined. I know variables don't pass like this between functions, but how can I make it work so that the function returns this var?
}
otherNavn = function hent_kontakt_navn(val1, val2) // returning the value is not enough, you must now store it somewhere
alert(otherNavn) //this will show the returned value from the function

also, I would recommend storing an initial value of navn when you initialize it, and testing navn right before your return statement, so you can get a better idea of what value is where and when...

consider the following proof

function myFunc(userInput){
    var record = 5; // Just a base value to make sure we know what to expect.

    if (typeof userInput=='Number') {

        (function(){
            var unusableRecord = 5;  // this is not returned from the anonymous function, so we won't be able to access it anywhere but here (inside this function)

            record += userInput; // Now we changed the value of our record;

            alert(record); // If this doesn't alert we we don't expect the value of record to have changed...
        })();

    }

    try{
        alert(unusableRecord); // This will always be 'undefined' and thus fail
    }catch(e){
        alert('undefined');
    }
    
    alert(record);  // Whatever value this alerts is what we can expect to be returned from the function.

    return record; // Now we can use this outside of the function, but it is of no use if we don't assign it to a variable.
}

myFunc(2); // This will execute, and myFunc will return 7... but we don't store it, so its useless...

alert(myFunc(2) + 5);  // this will alert 12, but again... we don't store the value, so useless. (unless you only intend to inform the user of this arbitrary value...)

var newValForRecord = myFunc(prompt()); // Try this with user input, and try it without user input.

alert(newValForRecord);  // This will not be undefined

[felgall]

You are aware that this particular API was abandoned back in November last year as no agreement could be reached on how any of it is supposed to work. Those few browsers that do support some of this code each have a different level of support and those that currently don't support it have no plans to support it until such time as it is completely rewritten to work the way they want it to (each with a completely different idea of what they want).

It took about 10 years for a two path split in the way JavaScript would go to be resolved (with ECMAScript 3.1 and ECMAScript 4 finally being abandoned in favour of the compromise ECMAScript 5) so a compromise on this API (where there are at least five or more different proposals) will probably take around 40 years to come up with a compromise acceptable to all parties.

[Publicus]

blaze4218: I'm getting the return like you wrote in your second example.

otherNavn = function hent_kontakt_navn(val1, val2) // returning the value is not enough, you must now store it somewhere
alert(otherNavn) //this will show the returned value from the function

But still the navn variable isn't passed. I know it's because I don't understand how the function I'm using works. So how can I get the data out of there?

[blaze4218]

I can't figure out how to test your code, that's why I gave you the detailed example on how to form the type of function you want.

Can you post your function as it appears now? or even better... do you have a link to a live example?

[Publicus]

Thanks alot for your help! I have uploaded the script here: http://robinhavre.no/test/index.html

You see that everything works the way it's supposed to, except for this one function not returning the variable. The function is called on line 86 in script.js, and you find it on line 95.

[blaze4218]

Ok, I see the problem. But the solution might be beyond my knowledge.

I inserted 2 additional alerts to see the flow of execution through the function:

    function hent_kontakt_navn(landskode, mobilnr) { //I WANT THIS FUNCTION TO RETURN THE STRING navn
        var db = DBTEST;
        var navn;

alert('starting anon funct')
        db.transaction(function (tx) {
            var connString = 'SELECT * FROM db_kontakter WHERE landskode="' + landskode + '" AND mobilnr="' + mobilnr + '" LIMIT 1';

            tx.executeSql(connString, [], function (tx, results) {
                var len = results.rows.length, i;

                for (var i = 0; i < len; i++){

                      var fornavn = results.rows.item(i).fornavn;
                      var etternavn = results.rows.item(i).etternavn;

                      navn = fornavn + ' ' + etternavn;

                      alert('Name that should be returned: ' + navn); //Works!
               }
            }, null);

	});
alert('finishing anon funct.\n navn equals : '+navn)

        return navn; //Doesn't work
    }

Here's what I observed:
The function hent_kontakt_navn() is called 4 times. Each time we receive an alert indicating that the anonymous function is starting followed by the alert that the anonymous function is finished. We do not receive any alerts from inside the anonymous function until after hent_kontakt_navn() has executed 4 times.

The way your code is structured, it appears as though you are executing the anonymous functions in the scope of hent_kontakt_nab(), so you would expect everything to occur in succession. I have refactored your code a bit so you can see what is actually happening here. The following 3 functions are identical to hent_kontakt_navn, and perform the same execution:

    function make_conn(tx) {
        var connString = 'SELECT * FROM db_kontakter WHERE landskode="' + landskode + '" AND mobilnr="' + mobilnr + '" LIMIT 1';

        tx.executeSql(connString, [], get_navn, null);

    }

    function get_navn(tx, results) {
        var len = results.rows.length, i;

        for (var i = 0; i < len; i++){

            var fornavn = results.rows.item(i).fornavn;
            var etternavn = results.rows.item(i).etternavn;

            var navn = fornavn + ' ' + etternavn;

            alert('Name that should be returned: ' + navn); //Works!
        }
        return navn; // This *might* help, if you could capture it's value in the scope we are returning to...
    }

    function hent_kontakt_navn(landskode, mobilnr) { //I WANT THIS FUNCTION TO RETURN THE STRING navn
        var db = DBTEST;
        var navn;
/* 
*if you were executing the mak_conn function you would have "make_conn()"
*but instead, you are actually passing the value of make_conn to db.transaction()
*so that it can be executed later in the scope of that function... So there really
*is no way to return the value executed in make_conn to this scope without a closure.
*the same is true of the line "tx.executeSql(connString, [], get_navn, null);" above.
*/
        db.transaction(make_conn);

        return navn; //Doesn't work
    }

Once I realized what the problem was, I was able to do a quick search and found this
getting a webkit executesql transaction to return a value
in which they also said you need a closure but they did not provide sample code to make it work. But
at least you can research the *right question* now