javascript assign console.log to an object

Question

I'm using sinon.js for testing, but it's not relevant here. Original sinon implementation contains following code:

sinon = {
  log: function() {}
  //...
}

there is just a stub log function to be overriden by users, higher-level sinon functions use that. That makes sense. And now I try to define sinon.log function for myself:

sinon.log = console.log;

When I try to log something, I get a nasty error I don;t clearly understand:

sinon.log(1)
> TypeError: Illegal invocation

I have found that it has something to do with the this context in javascript, because when I change this implementation to:

sinon.log = function(){ console.log.apply(console, arguments) };

it works perfectly for n arguments (just as console.log does). But I don't know why should I set the this object to console object. Does it rely on internal browser implementation (I'm using chrome)? Is there any standard for that, e.g. I should always set this object to console in such case?

I ask for the explanation: how do the internals work, why is this error raised and why is my second implementation correct.

Works for me in all browsers. [jsBin](http://jsbin.com/wawenonodofo/1/edit?js,console) — hex494D49, Aug 24 '14 at 09:11
when I open chrome console and run the code from your fiddle, I get `Illegal invocation` error. — ducin, Aug 24 '14 at 09:34
It is not „this” the problem, but the console.@Zanval answer prove it.Also, you may write sinon.log = function(arg){console.log(arg);} without apply. — cox, Aug 24 '14 at 09:52
@hex494D49 version 36.0.1985.143 @cox I want to use `arguments` to get original `console.log` behavior (multiple arguments to be logged) - that's why I use `.apply` — ducin, Aug 24 '14 at 10:03

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:05

This works for me in a jsfiddle:

sinon.log = console.log.bind(console)

(jsfiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/vjotqjka/)

console.log has a wierd behaviour with its this, which is why I used console.log.bind(console) to keep its this set to console. The behaviour of console.log with its this is not browser specific and is working as intended. This stackoverflow answer looks related: TypeError: Illegal Invocation on console.log.apply

More information about function.prototype.bind can be found here: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/bind

javascript assign console.log to an object

1 Answers1