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Object.prototype.defineGetter()

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

Warning: This feature is deprecated in favor of defining getters using the object initializer syntax or the Object.defineProperty() API. While this feature is widely implemented, it is only described in the ECMAScript specification because of legacy usage. This method should not be used since better alternatives exist.

The __defineGetter__ method binds an object's property to a function to be called when that property is looked up.

Syntax

__defineGetter__(prop, func)

Parameters

prop: A string containing the name of the property to bind to the given function.
func: A function to be bound to a lookup of the specified property.

Return value

undefined.

Description

The __defineGetter__ allows a getter to be defined on a pre-existing object.

Examples

Non-standard and deprecated way

const o = {};
o.__defineGetter__('gimmeFive', function () {
  return 5;
});
console.log(o.gimmeFive); // 5

Standard-compliant ways

// Using the get operator
const o = { get gimmeFive() { return 5; } };
console.log(o.gimmeFive); // 5

// Using Object.defineProperty
const o = {};
Object.defineProperty(o, 'gimmeFive', {
  get() {
    return 5;
  },
});
console.log(o.gimmeFive); // 5

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript Language Specification # sec-object.prototype.__defineGetter__

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet	Deno	Node.js
`__defineGetter__`	1	12	1 Starting with Firefox 48, this method can no longer be called at the global scope without any object. A `TypeError` will be thrown otherwise. Previously, the global object was used in these cases automatically, but this is no longer the case.	11	9.5	3	4.4	18	4	10.1	1	1.0	1.0	0.10.0

Object.prototype.__defineGetter__()