Why are my component bindings undefined in its controller? code example

Example: Why are my component bindings undefined in its controller?

When using angular's components, there is a point where the controller hasn't been wired up via the internal linking. If you're trying to do this in the constructor of your controller, you haven't been linked to the bindings. The Component API exposes a few life-cycle hooks that you can define that will fire at certain times. You're looking for the $onInit hook.