March 27, 2000 - The arguments Array

Yehuda Shiran March 27, 2000
The arguments Array
Tips: March 2000

Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D.
Doc JavaScript

The functionName.arguments array holds the arguments the were passed to the function functionName when it was last called. Here is an example:

function foo() {
  document.write(foo.arguments[2]);
}
foo(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
foo();

The output of the script is:

3
3

The second 3 is not associated with the second foo() call, but rather with the first one. Since the second foo() call has no arguments, the arguments from the first foo() call still occupy the arguments array.

See an example for using the arguments array in Column 59, IE 5.5's Stack Support.