Lightning getReference() on a helper function rather than component function

Question

Using component.getReference("c.thisComponentFunction") to grab a reference for dynamically created components is a known feature. I'm not finding any documentation (or possibility) to do the same for a helper function for the same component.

Controller:

({
  doSomething : function(component, event, helper) {
    component.getReference("c.doSomethingElse"); //regular usage
    //component.getReference("helper.somethingElseInHelper"); //doesn't work
  },
  doSomethingElse : function(component, event, helper) {
    helper.somethingElseInHelper(component);
  },
})

Helper:

({
  somethingElseInHelper : function(component) {
    alert("you're in the helper!");
  },
})

Is there a way to directly access "helper.somethingElseInHelper" with component.getReference()?

Answer 1

You cannot directly access a helper of another component unless you are extending it. You will need to create a controller method to give access to a helper method.