For example, if I use toString():

let s = Symbol('abc')
console.log(s.toString())

For example, if I use toString():

let s = Symbol('abc')
console.log(s.toString())

I get:

'Symbol(abc)'

How to get just the:

'abc'

part instead?

I know how to do this with string manipulation, but I would hope for a potentially more efficient solution that directly obtains the value.

I am using Symbol to implement an Enum: What is the preferred syntax for defining enums in JavaScript? and want to serialize it with a toJSON() on the containing class.

Tested in Node.js v10.15.1.

• javascript

• .slice the string? – CertainPerformance Commented Oct 22, 2019 at 8:15
• @CertainPerformance I would hope for a solution that does not involve possibly inefficient string manipulation. – Ciro Santilli OurBigBook. Commented Oct 22, 2019 at 8:16
• Slicing a string isn't inefficient at all. If you're running into performance issues, run a performance test to identify parts of your script that are taking up resources - string slicing will almost certainly not be one of them. (Worrying about it is quite premature optimization) – CertainPerformance Commented Oct 22, 2019 at 8:17

2 Answers 2

Use description to get value

s.description

As when we create Symbol we pass description of that symbol.

For more read this.

I would use s.description. It will return the description of the Symbol.

A deeper explanation here.