Disallow Early Use (no-use-before-define)

In JavaScript, prior to ES6, variable and function declarations are hoisted to the top of a scope, so it’s possible to use identifiers before their formal declarations in code. This can be confusing and some believe it is best to always declare variables and functions before using them.

In ES6, block-level bindings (let and const) introduce a “temporal dead zone” where a ReferenceError will be thrown with any attempt to access the variable before its declaration.

Rule Details

This rule will warn when it encounters a reference to an identifier that has not yet been declared.

Examples of incorrect code for this rule:

/*eslint no-use-before-define: "error"*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

alert(a);
var a = 10;

f();
function f() {}

function g() {
    return b;
}
var b = 1;

// With blockBindings: true
{
    alert(c);
    let c = 1;
}

Examples of correct code for this rule:

/*eslint no-use-before-define: "error"*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

var a;
a = 10;
alert(a);

function f() {}
f(1);

var b = 1;
function g() {
    return b;
}

// With blockBindings: true
{
    let C;
    c++;
}

Options

{
    "no-use-before-define": ["error", { "functions": true, "classes": true }]
}

This rule accepts "nofunc" string as an option. "nofunc" is the same as { "functions": false, "classes": true }.

functions

Examples of correct code for the { "functions": false } option:

/*eslint no-use-before-define: ["error", { "functions": false }]*/

f();
function f() {}

classes

Examples of incorrect code for the { "classes": false } option:

/*eslint no-use-before-define: ["error", { "classes": false }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

new A();
class A {
}

Examples of correct code for the { "classes": false } option:

/*eslint no-use-before-define: ["error", { "classes": false }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

function foo() {
    return new A();
}

class A {
}

variables

Examples of incorrect code for the { "variables": false } option:

/*eslint no-use-before-define: ["error", { "variables": false }]*/

console.log(foo);
var foo = 1;

Examples of correct code for the { "variables": false } option:

/*eslint no-use-before-define: ["error", { "variables": false }]*/

function baz() {
    console.log(foo);
}

var foo = 1;

Version

This rule was introduced in ESLint 0.0.9.

Resources