Why can't I set a JavaScript function's name property?

Question

I am learning JavaScript and read that functions are like objects and can have properties set like this:

var person = function(){
}
person.name="John Smith"; //output ""
person.age=21; //output 21
person.profession="Web Developer"; //output "Web Developer"

Why is the name property blank?

Thanks

Answer 1

Because name is a non-standard, non-writable property of function objects. Function declarations and named function expressions are named, while you have an anonymous function expression whose name is "".

You probably wanted a plain object:

var person = {
    name: "John Smith",
    age: 21,
    profession: "Web Developer"
};