Is there any non-eval way to create a function with a runtime-determined name?

Question

Is there any way to create a function with a real name that\'s determined at runtime without using eval, and using only pure JavaScript? (So, n

Answer 1

Here's a utility function I came up with some time ago. It uses the Function constructor technique as outlined in @T.J.Crowder's great answer, but improves on its disadvantages and allows fine-grained control over the scope of the new function.

function NamedFunction(name, args, body, scope, values) {
    if (typeof args == "string")
        values = scope, scope = body, body = args, args = [];
    if (!Array.isArray(scope) || !Array.isArray(values)) {
        if (typeof scope == "object") {
            var keys = Object.keys(scope);
            values = keys.map(function(p) { return scope[p]; });
            scope = keys;
        } else {
            values = [];
            scope = [];
        }
    }
    return Function(scope, "function "+name+"("+args.join(", ")+") {\n"+body+"\n}\nreturn "+name+";").apply(null, values);
};

It allows you being tidy and avoiding complete access to your scope via eval, e.g. in the above scenario:

var f = NamedFunction("fancyname", ["hi"], "display(hi);", {display:display});
f.toString(); // "function fancyname(hi) {
              // display(hi);
              // }"
f("Hi");