In an array of named objects in javascript - are the names accessible?

Question

If we create some objects, and fill an array with those objects, are the names stored within the array, or only the properties of the object? I guess this may be trivial, but I haven't been able to find an answer.

var boxA = {color: "red", width: 100};
var boxB = {color: "yellow", width: 200};
var boxC = {color: "blue", width: 300};

boxArray = [boxA, boxB, boxC];

for (var i = 0; i < boxArray.length; i++) {

    //****
    // What code do we insert here to log
    // boxA
    // boxB
    // boxC
    //****

}

Of course, it is a trivial workaround to add

boxA.box = boxA; 

etc and then call

console.log(boxArray[i].box);

But is that really necessary?

Answer 1

No, that does not work like that.

The variable name is a reference to an object in a heap area of memory managed by JS automatically for you.

In details it means that:

var boxA = {color: "red", width: 100};

this statement:

1. Creates an object in the heap
2. Associates a local symbol boxA with that object.

So the object is referenced by one variable yet.

var boxArray = [boxA];

here:

1. An array with one element is created. That element contains a reference to an object. A copy of the reference to be precise. So, the same original object is referenced twice now.
2. A boxArray is assigned a reference to the array, which is also placed in the heap.

To summarize: the variable names exist only in code listing for developers to easier reason about some objects in memory, instead of operating with memory addresses (which would be horrible).