Sending variable to $.getScript

Question

Is it possible to send a variable to the script loaded using $.getScript?

At the moment I have:

$.getScript( "js/my_script.js", function() {
// do something here after script has loaded
});

But I want to send a variable to the loaded script. Is this possible, if yes, how?

For example

// this is a variable set outside of the script loaded via `$.getScript`
var my_variable = 1

// how do I get that variable sent to `my_script.js`
$.getScript( "my_script.js", function() {
// do something here after script has loaded
});

Answer 1

jQuery.getScript():

The script is executed in the global context, so it can refer to other variables and use jQuery functions.

From the documentation, it seems that your variable should be accessible within a $.getScript(function(){..}) call. Therefore, this is likely a problem with scope. Your variable my_variable exists (presumably) inside $(document).ready(function(){...}), and is therefore restricted to that particular scope.

Try using a global variable by assigning your data to the window object:

// Set it as a global variable by assigning it to the window object
window.my_variable = 'some value';

// Now use it inside of $.getScript()
$.getScript( "my_script.js", function() {
  // Access it by name
  alert(my_variable);
  // or as a property of window
  alert(window.my_variable);
  // both ways to access my_variable work and are valid.
}

Sources: old question here and $.getScript docs here.
Verified on my personal server.

Answer 2

You can put your included file into function, then run

    $.getScript(url, function() {
       functionName(params);
    });

Answer 3

Be careful here - javascript is all about thinking 4th-dimensionally (Marty!). $.getScript is asynchronous, so the call will return right away before the script is loaded, potentially. If you have multiple scripts to load and needed to pass something to each of them, you'd have to use different variables because of this.