javascript apply() vs call() vs bind()

"Soon they'll have written the greatest javascript program known to man"

What do they all do?

All this methods attach this into function (or object) and the difference is in the function invocation.

When to use each one of them?

Use .bind() when you want that function to later be called with a certain context, useful in events. Use .call() or .apply() when you want to invoke the function immediately, and modify the context.

Call/apply call the function immediately, whereas bind returns a function that, when later executed, will have the correct context set for calling the original function. This way you can maintain context in async callbacks and events.

One by one

call()

call attaches this into function and executes the function immediately

var person = {  
  name: "James Smith",
  hello: function(thing) {
    console.log(this.name + " says hello " + thing);
  }
}

person.hello("world");  // output: "James Smith says hello world"
person.hello.call({ name: "Jim Smith" }, "world"); // output: "Jim Smith says hello world"

apply()

apply is similar to call except that it takes an array-like object instead of listing the arguments out one at a time

function personContainer() {
  var person = {  
     name: "James Smith",
     hello: function() {
       console.log(this.name + " says hello " + arguments[1]);
     }
  }
  person.hello.apply(person, arguments);
}
personContainer("world", "mars"); // output: "James Smith says hello mars", note: arguments[0] = "world" , arguments[1] = "mars"

bind()

bind attaches this into function and it needs to be invoked separately like this:

var person = {  
  name: "James Smith",
  hello: function(thing) {
    console.log(this.name + " says hello " + thing);
  }
}

person.hello("world");  // output: "James Smith says hello world"
var helloFunc = person.hello.bind({ name: "Jim Smith" });
helloFunc("world");  // output: Jim Smith says hello world"