Function.prototype.toString()

The toString() method returns a string representing the source code of the 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'); // TypeError

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

"function () {\n    [native code]\n}"

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.

It's also possible to explicitly get the string representation of a function using the + operator:

function foo() { return 'bar' }
console.log(foo + ''); // "function foo() { return 'bar' }"

Examples

Comparing actual source code and toString results

function f(){}

"function f(){}"

class A { a(){} }

"class A { a(){} }"

function* g(){}

"function* g(){}"

a => a

"a => a"

({ a(){} }.a)

"a(){}"

({ *a(){} }.a)

"*a(){}"

({ [0](){} }[0])

"[0](){}"

Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor({
    get a(){}
}, "a").get

"get a(){}"

Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor({
    set a(x){}
}, "a").set

"set a(x){}"

Function.prototype.toString

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

(function f(){}.bind(0))

"function () { [native code] }"

Function("a", "b")

"function anonymous(a\n) {\nb\n}"

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Object.prototype.toString()