Detect Generator Functions with JavaScript

By  on  

In the current JavaScript climate of new syntaxes, features, and using loads of external libraries, it seems harder than ever to be sure what your functions are being given or even what the data represents. Of course, we've come up with Flow and TypeScript to help, but we can't count on those always being available. That's why I like doing my own detection with JavaScript, especially when it comes to function types.

To detect if a function is a generator or async generator function, you can use the following code:

// Sample generator function
function* sampleGenerator() {}
sampleGenerator.constructor.name
// "GeneratorFunction"

async function* sampleGenerator() {}
sampleGenerator.constructor.name
// "AsyncGeneratorFunction"

Coincidentally, you can also detect a regular async function with:

async function asyncThing() {}
asyncThing.constructor.name
// "AsyncFunction"

It's always important to know if the code you're using is sync, async, or a generator, but if you're using external libraries or want to write comprehensive tests, these types of detections may be necessary.

Recent Features

  • By
    5 Ways that CSS and JavaScript Interact That You May Not Know About

    CSS and JavaScript:  the lines seemingly get blurred by each browser release.  They have always done a very different job but in the end they are both front-end technologies so they need do need to work closely.  We have our .js files and our .css, but...

  • By
    fetch API

    One of the worst kept secrets about AJAX on the web is that the underlying API for it, XMLHttpRequest, wasn't really made for what we've been using it for.  We've done well to create elegant APIs around XHR but we know we can do better.  Our effort to...

Incredible Demos

  • By
    Create a 3D Panorama Image with A-Frame

    In the five years I've been at Mozilla I've seen some awesome projects.  Some of them very popular, some of them very niche, but none of them has inspired me the way the MozVR team's work with WebVR and A-Frame project have. A-Frame is a community project...

  • By
    9 Mind-Blowing Canvas Demos

    The <canvas> element has been a revelation for the visual experts among our ranks.  Canvas provides the means for incredible and efficient animations with the added bonus of no Flash; these developers can flash their awesome JavaScript skills instead.  Here are nine unbelievable canvas demos that...

Discussion

    Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!