Make return call from nested function

Question

function runimage(){
  var vel = val.id;
  var secondlink = 'someurl'+vel+'stuff';                       

  $.getJSON(secondlink, function(beyta){
      var target = beyta.attachments.data[0].media.image.src;
      return target;
  });

  return "FISH";
}

I am making an API call via jQuery's getJSON method. The problem I am having is getting the runimage() function return the value of my target value.

The code return target gives me undefined. This is the result even if I place a dummy string in place of target.

To see if this is a problem with closures, I added a dummy return "FISH" outside of my getJSON call, and the code does indeed return "FISH"

How would I go about getting runimage() to return the value of variable target?

Consider callback continuations or promises to handle async operations — Nick Zuber, Feb 02 '17 at 22:41

Scott Marcus · Answer 1 · 2017-02-02T22:36:30.720

1

The issue is that while you are waiting to get your AJAX response, the function has already returned "FISH".

edited Feb 02 '17 at 22:36

answered Feb 02 '17 at 22:31

Scott Marcus

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I should clarify that the dummy is used as a test. Not at the same time as my original code. I only added it in here to see if it was an issue with closures. – Jason Chen Feb 02 '17 at 22:32
@ibrahim mahrir Please don't add new content to other people's answers. Add a comment instead. Thank you. – Scott Marcus Feb 02 '17 at 22:37
You should look into JavaScript "promises" to resolve this. – Scott Marcus Feb 02 '17 at 22:37

Make return call from nested function

1 Answers1