Support referenced function declaration

[toddmotto]

A common pattern a lot of Angular developers I know (myself included) utilise a pattern like this:

function SomeCtrl () {

}
angular
  .module('app', [])
  .controller('SomeCtrl', SomeCtrl);

Currently, to make this work we have to do:

// @ngInject
function SomeCtrl () {

}
angular
  .module('app', [])
  .controller('SomeCtrl', SomeCtrl);

What would the implications be for getting this working with ng-annotate without using an /** @ngInject */ comment? As the method above becomes more popular, I think one of the main downsides to adoption are having to use the comment - is there a way ng-annotate can lookup the function based on it's name based on the scope?

[olov]

For this to work ng-annotate must do static scope analysis. Not that hard for basic support (I already wrote the scope analysis code for defs.js), but not something I'm planning to implement in the near term.

/*@ngInject*/ (you can format the comment as you wish so // @ngInject works just as well) is not too shabby in these situations really. Sure, it's a few extra characters but you don't have to keep two argument-lists in sync, which is the big win of using ng-annotate compared to just doing things manually.

I will leave this issue open for a while. Feel free to leave a +1 comment to show me that you too would like this.

[johnpapa]

+1 for adding support to NOT have to use the comment. I'm seeing a lot of adoption for this type of structure and removing code is always a plus.

[jillesme]

+1 this would be great

[jbellsey]

+1
The ngInject comment is a fantastic hinting tool for covering exceptional cases. However, this syntax is, as mentioned above, more the rule than the exception, and for good reason.

[CallumVass]

Good suggestion!

+1

[kkozmic]

1000x +1

[mikekidder]

+1, if ng-annotate remains fast

[ThatRendle]

Kind of +1. I use TypeScript with AngularJS. Using // @ngInject on TypeScript class constructors works fine - I tell TypeScript to keep comments in - but the resulting changes to the JavaScript after ng-annotate works its magic throw my source maps off, especially after running the output through Uglify, which takes the source maps from TypeScript and uses them to build the final source maps for the minified JS.

If ng-annotate could somehow work without the comment line everything should match up OK.

I am vaguely aware that I am asking for the moon on a stick... :)

[ryanclark]

+1

[jftsaraiva]

+1

[coryrylan]

+1 this would be helpful.

[phillip-haydon]

+1

[olov]

Ok - thanks for chiming in with your input everyone. I take it that a lot of people would like this feature so I'll try to evaluate how feasible it would be to get it in near-term'ish. A few other things need attention first. No need for more +1 comments now but feel free to subscribe to this issue to get notifications on progress.

Also - I'm planning to support this by refactoring code out of defs.js so I'm not interested in any PR for this feature ATM.

[toddmotto]

Thank you! <3 really awesome.