In AngularJS I have a directive that watches a scope variable. When the variable contains certain data then I need to alter that variable a bit. The problem is that when I change the variable that my $watch is triggered again. So I end up in a continuous loop.
scope.$watch('someVar', function(newValue, oldValue) {
console.log(newValue);
scope.someVar = [Do something with someVar];
});
This keeps triggering $watch again, which makes sense. But I do need a way to change the watched variable. Is there a way to do this?
Answer
When a variable is watched for changes using $scope.$watch, angular checks if the reference has changed. If it has, then the $watch handler is executed to update the view.
If you plan on changing the scope variable within the $watch handler, it will trigger an infinite $digest loop because the scope variable reference changes every time that it is called.
The trick to getting around the infinite digest issue is to preserve the reference inside your $watch handler using angular.copy (docs):
scope.$watch('someVar', function(newValue, oldValue) {
console.log(newValue);
var someVar = [Do something with someVar];
// angular copy will preserve the reference of $scope.someVar
// so it will not trigger another digest
angular.copy(someVar, $scope.someVar);
});
Note: This trick only works for object references. It will not work with primitives.
In general, its not a good idea to update a $watched variable within its own $watch listener. However, sometimes it may be unavoidable.