How to return object explicitly in CoffeeScript

Question

This works:

myfunc = () ->
    id: 3
    name: 'myname'

But I want to be explicit about returning object.

myfunc = () ->
    return
        id: 3
        name: 'myname'

But I get "Unexpected 'INDENT'" error. What's wrong with the above code?

you’re better off not to explicitly return it, as coffeescript always implictitly returns stuff. explicitly doing it is not only redundant, but might trick the reader into believing it makes a difference and functions without explicit return value would return `undefined` like in JS. — flying sheep, Jan 13 '13 at 22:24
@flyingsheep "not only redundant, but might trick the reader into believing it makes a difference" That is such a critical point and is applicable to so many different. — Joshua Pinter, Jan 08 '15 at 19:48
You shouldn't assume everyone is an idiot. Experienced CoffeeScript users often use explicit return statements. Personally, I only use implicit returns with functions that have a single expression as their body, which is a popular approach. Not using a language feature because you assume people will be confused by something this basic is a recipe for some truly awful code. — Carl Smith, Oct 09 '17 at 14:45

score 92 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 05 '11 at 16:25

92

myFunc = ->
  return {
    id   : 3
    name : 'myname'
  }

myFunc = ->
  return {} =
    id   : 3
    name : 'myname'

myFunc = ->
  # return
  id   : 3
  name : 'myname'

answered Feb 05 '11 at 16:25

matyr

5,774
28
22

14

I esp. like the last one ;-) – Juve Mar 20 '12 at 23:19
yeah 3rd is awesome / hilarious – xst Oct 10 '14 at 09:20
I like the second one. – Rob Kinyon Mar 05 '16 at 23:59

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 05 '11 at 16:09

10

you should put the return value on the same line or wrap it in () :

myFunc = () ->
  return id:3, name:'myname'

myFunc = () ->
  return (
    id: 3
    name: 'myname'
  )

answered Feb 05 '11 at 16:09

Adrien

9,551
3
26
27

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 16 '12 at 06:57

2

I think the best way is

myFunc = ->
  return (
    id: 3
    name: 'myname'
  )

because it fits the philosophy of functional programming.

answered Sep 16 '12 at 06:57

alsotang

1,520
1
13
15

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 18 '12 at 16:25

1

The previous answers are all correct. This works too:

myFunc = () -> 
    {
        id: 3
        name: 'myname'
    }

answered Mar 18 '12 at 16:25

Tim Scott

15,106
9
65
79

How to return object explicitly in CoffeeScript

4 Answers4