Rule proposal: Avoid or prefer using globals as `globalThis.something`

[fregante]

Description

Originally posted in https://github.com/sindresorhus/eslint-plugin-unicorn/issues/2410#issuecomment-2255792543

you should still prefer nothing at all over globalThis in some cases (unless you're using ?.), like you wouldn't use new globalThis.Image() or globalThis.Array.from() or globalThis.globalThis

I'd lean towards never using globalThis (and window, self, global, etc) for known globals. globalThis.jQuery = jQuery should still be allowed though.

Fail

globalThis.alert();
globalThis.fetch();
globalThis.console.log();
globalThis.addEventListener('navigate', fn);
globalThis.JSON.stringify();
globalThis.window.self.close()
new globalThis.Image();
globalThis.RegExp.$1;

Pass

alert();
fetch();
console.log();
addEventListener('navigate', fn);
JSON.stringify();
self.close(); // Partial exception
new Image();
RegExp.$1;

The exception is the same as the one described in https://github.com/sindresorhus/eslint-plugin-unicorn/pull/2410#discussion_r1695312427

Proposed rule name

global-properties or just avoid-global-propertoes

Additional Info

No response

[fregante]

Drawbacks/exceptions:

// Assuming Node.js
const log = globalThis.alert; // undefined
const log = alert; // Uncaught ReferenceError: alert is not defined

If the function is called, this makes no difference:

// Assuming Node.js
globalThis.alert(); // Uncaught ReferenceError: alert is not defined
alert();            // Uncaught ReferenceError: alert is not defined

new globalThis.Image(); // Uncaught ReferenceError: Image is not defined
new Image();            // Uncaught ReferenceError: Image is not defined

[sindresorhus]

Name: no-unnecessary-globalthis?

[sindresorhus]

Not sure about this. I do agree that it's nice to avoid it in browser-only contexts, but for cross-platform code, it's necessary.

We could ignore cases like globalThis.alert?.(), but there are many ways to use APIs that may or may not be available, and I worry that this rule will be annoying.

Maybe we could exclude it from the recommended preset and in XO, only enable it when the environment is browser-only?

[fregante]

Name: no-unnecessary-globalthis?

I suppose that focusing on globalThis simplifies the logic and leaves window-specific exclusions to prefer-global-this:

window.self.alert();     // ❌ `prefer-global-this`
globalThis.self.alert(); // ❌ `no-unnecessary-globalthis`
self.alert();            // ❌ `prefer-global-this`
globalThis.alert();      // ❌ `no-unnecessary-globalthis`
alert(); ✅

it's necessary

See my second comment, in some cases it's indeed required, but in others it doesn't make a difference.

globalThis.alert?.() would indeed have to be an exception since alert?.() won't catch reference errors. Related:

• https://github.com/sindresorhus/eslint-plugin-unicorn/issues/1479

when the environment is browser-only?

That's what I thought too, but globalThis.fetch() and globalThis.atob() is also available on Node.

So, safe to replace:

• globals that are part of ES
• values that are accessed/called without ?.
  • globalThis.location.href, new globalThis.Element()

Unsafe to replace:

• platform-specific globals that are unused
  • const fn = globalThis.alert; -> Function in browser, undefined in Node
• platform-specific globals that are followed by ?.
  • globalThis.alert?.()

[dimaMachina]

Maybe similar proposal https://github.com/sindresorhus/eslint-plugin-unicorn/issues/1959

[fregante]

👍 Yeah the core is the same, but this request is more generic, including node. Some of the comments are also covered by another rule:

• 2410

So I'll close that in favor of this and prefer-global-this