return command in functions

[crazyswede]

I’m new to functions. The “return” command was not well explained on your website. What I have found, is variables set in the functionare readily passed back to the program when the function ends, so why would I ever need to use return?

[davej]

Globals would be visible in the calling function. One function I commonly use is:

function $(id) {return document.getElementById(id);}

Edited December 28, 2012 by davej

[Ingolme]

Return is what the function gives back to the caller.When you call a function and assign it to a variable the return value is what the variable will contain.

function sum(a,  {    return (a + ;}var X = sum(5, 3);alert(X) // Displays "8"

[jeffman]

If you create variables within a function, but don't use the var keyword, those variables will be globally visible. Example:

function foo () {	 x = 5;}alert (x); // alerts "5"

Usually this practice is discouraged because it is hard to keep track of globals created this way. The following is better:

function foo () {	 var x = 5;	 return x;}alert (foo() ); // alerts "5"