Create object from class name in JavasScript ECMAScript 6 - javascript

I want create object factory using ES6 but old-style syntax doesn't work with new.
I have next code:
export class Column {}
export class Sequence {}
export class Checkbox {}
export class ColumnFactory {
constructor() {
this.specColumn = {
__default: 'Column',
__sequence: 'Sequence',
__checkbox: 'Checkbox'
};
}
create(name) {
let className = this.specColumn[name] ? this.specColumn[name] : this.specColumn['__default'];
return new window[className](name); // this line throw error
}
}
let factory = new ColumnFactory();
let column = factory.create('userName');
What do I do wrong?

Don't put class names on that object. Put the classes themselves there, so that you don't have to rely on them being global and accessible (in browsers) through window.
Btw, there's no good reason to make this factory a class, you would probably only instantiate it once (singleton). Just make it an object:
export class Column {}
export class Sequence {}
export class Checkbox {}
export const columnFactory = {
specColumn: {
__default: Column, // <--
__sequence: Sequence, // <--
__checkbox: Checkbox // <--
},
create(name, ...args) {
let cls = this.specColumn[name] || this.specColumn.__default;
return new cls(...args);
}
};

There is a small & dirty way to do that:
function createClassByName(name,...a) {
var c = eval(name);
return new c(...a);
}
You can now create a class like that:
let c = createClassByName( 'Person', x, y );

The problem is that the classes are not properties of the window object. You can have an object with properties "pointing" to your classes instead:
class Column {}
class Sequence {}
class Checkbox {}
let classes = {
Column,
Sequence,
Checkbox
}
class ColumnFactory {
constructor() {
this.specColumn = {
__default: 'Column',
__sequence: 'Sequence',
__checkbox: 'Checkbox'
};
}
create(name) {
let className = this.specColumn[name] ? this.specColumn[name] : this.specColumn['__default'];
return new classes[className](name); // this line no longer throw error
}
}
let factory = new ColumnFactory();
let column = factory.create('userName');
export {ColumnFactory, Column, Sequence, Checkbox};

For those of you that are not using ES6 and want to know how you can create classes by using a string here is what I have done to get this to work.
"use strict";
class Person {
constructor(x, y) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
}
}
window.classes = {};
window.classes.Person = Person;
document.body.innerText = JSON.stringify(new window.classes["Person"](1, 2));
As you can see the easiest way to do this is to add the class to an object.
Here is the fiddle:
https://jsfiddle.net/zxg7dsng/1/
Here is an example project that uses this approach:
https://github.com/pdxjohnny/dist-rts-client-web

I prefer this method:
allThemClasses.js
export class A {}
export class B {}
export class C {}
script.js
import * as Classes from './allThemClasses';
const a = new Classes['A'];
const b = new Classes['B'];
const c = new Classes['C'];

I know this is an old post, but recently I've had the same question about how to instance a class dynamically
I'm using webpack so following the documentation there is a way to load a module dynamically using the import() function
js/classes/MyClass.js
class MyClass {
test = null;
constructor(param) {
console.log(param)
this.test = param;
}
}
js/app.js
var p = "example";
var className = "MyClass";
import('./classes/'+className).then(function(mod) {
let myClass = new mod[className](p);
console.log(myClass);
}, function(failMsg) {
console.error("Fail to load class"+className);
console.error(failMsg);
});
Beware: this method is asynchronous and I can't really tell the performance cost for it,
But it works perfectly on my simple program (worth a try ^^)
Ps: To be fare I'm new to Es6 (a couple of days) I'm more a C++ / PHP / Java developer.
I hope this helps anyone that come across this question and that is it not a bad practice ^^".

Clarification
There are similar questions to this, including this SO question that was closed, that are looking for proxy classes or factory functions in JavaScript; also called dynamic classes. This answer is a modern solution in case you landed on this answer looking for any of those things.
Answer / Solution
As of 2022 I think there is a more elegant solution for use in the browser. I made a class called Classes that self-registers the property Class (uppercase C) on the window; code below examples.
Now you can have classes that you want to be able to reference dynamically register themselves globally:
// Make a class:
class Handler {
handleIt() {
// Handling it...
}
}
// Have it register itself globally:
Class.add(Handler);
// OR if you want to be a little more clear:
window.Class.add(Handler);
Then later on in your code all you need is the name of the class you would like to get its original reference:
// Get class
const handler = Class.get('Handler');
// Instantiate class for use
const muscleMan = new (handler)();
Or, even easier, just instantiate it right away:
// Directly instantiate class for use
const muscleMan = Class.new('Handler', ...args);
Code
You can see the latest code on my gist. Add this script before all other scripts and all of your classes will be able to register with it.
/**
* Adds a global constant class that ES6 classes can register themselves with.
* This is useful for referencing dynamically named classes and instances
* where you may need to instantiate different extended classes.
*
* NOTE: This script should be called as soon as possible, preferably before all
* other scripts on a page.
*
* #class Classes
*/
class Classes {
#classes = {};
constructor() {
/**
* JavaScript Class' natively return themselves, we can take advantage
* of this to prevent duplicate setup calls from overwriting the global
* reference to this class.
*
* We need to do this since we are explicitly trying to keep a global
* reference on window. If we did not do this a developer could accidentally
* assign to window.Class again overwriting any classes previously registered.
*/
if (window.Class) {
// eslint-disable-next-line no-constructor-return
return window.Class;
}
// eslint-disable-next-line no-constructor-return
return this;
}
/**
* Add a class to the global constant.
*
* #method
* #param {Class} ref The class to add.
* #return {boolean} True if ths class was successfully registered.
*/
add(ref) {
if (typeof ref !== 'function') {
return false;
}
this.#classes[ref.prototype.constructor.name] = ref;
return true;
}
/**
* Checks if a class exists by name.
*
* #method
* #param {string} name The name of the class you would like to check.
* #return {boolean} True if this class exists, false otherwise.
*/
exists(name) {
if (this.#classes[name]) {
return true;
}
return false;
}
/**
* Retrieve a class by name.
*
* #method
* #param {string} name The name of the class you would like to retrieve.
* #return {Class|undefined} The class asked for or undefined if it was not found.
*/
get(name) {
return this.#classes[name];
}
/**
* Instantiate a new instance of a class by reference or name.
*
* #method
* #param {Class|name} name A reference to the class or the classes name.
* #param {...any} args Any arguments to pass to the classes constructor.
* #returns A new instance of the class otherwise an error is thrown.
* #throws {ReferenceError} If the class is not defined.
*/
new(name, ...args) {
// In case the dev passed the actual class reference.
if (typeof name === 'function') {
// eslint-disable-next-line new-cap
return new (name)(...args);
}
if (this.exists(name)) {
return new (this.#classes[name])(...args);
}
throw new ReferenceError(`${name} is not defined`);
}
/**
* An alias for the add method.
*
* #method
* #alias Classes.add
*/
register(ref) {
return this.add(ref);
}
}
/**
* Insure that Classes is available in the global scope as Class so other classes
* that wish to take advantage of Classes can rely on it being present.
*
* NOTE: This does not violate https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_reserved.asp
*/
const Class = new Classes();
window.Class = Class;

This is an old question but we can find three main approaches that are very clever and useful:
1. The Ugly
We can use eval to instantiate our class like this:
class Column {
constructor(c) {
this.c = c
console.log(`Column with ${this.c}`);
}
}
function instantiator(name, ...params) {
const c = eval(name)
return new c(...params)
}
const name = 'Column';
const column = instantiator(name, 'box')
console.log({column})
However, eval has a big caveat, if we don't sanitize and don't add some layers of security, then we will have a big security whole that can be expose.
2. The Good
If we know the class names that we will use, then we can create a lookup table like this:
class Column {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Column with ${c}`)
}
}
class Sequence {
constructor(a, b) {
console.log(`Sequence with ${a} and ${b}`)
}
}
class Checkbox {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Checkbox with ${c}`)
}
}
// construct dict object that contains our mapping between strings and classes
const classMap = new Map([
['Column', Column],
['Sequence', Sequence],
['Checkbox', Checkbox],
])
function instantiator(name, ...p) {
return new(classMap.get(name))(...p)
}
// make a class from a string
let object = instantiator('Column', 'box')
object = instantiator('Sequence', 'box', 'index')
object = instantiator('Checkbox', 'box')
3. The Pattern
Finally, we can just create a Factory class that will safety handle the allowed classes and throw an error if it can load it.
class Column {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Column with ${c}`)
}
}
class Sequence {
constructor(a, b) {
console.log(`Sequence with ${a} and ${b}`)
}
}
class Checkbox {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Checkbox with ${c}`)
}
}
class ClassFactory {
static class(name) {
switch (name) {
case 'Column':
return Column
case 'Sequence':
return Sequence
case 'Checkbox':
return Checkbox
default:
throw new Error(`Could not instantiate ${name}`);
}
}
static create(name, ...p) {
return new(ClassFactory.class(name))(...p)
}
}
// make a class from a string
let object
object = ClassFactory.create('Column', 'box')
object = ClassFactory.create('Sequence', 'box', 'index')
object = ClassFactory.create('Checkbox', 'box')
I recommend The Good method. It is is clean and safe. Also, it should be better than using global or window object:
class definitions in ES6 are not automatically put on the global object like they would with other top level variable declarations (JavaScript trying to avoid adding more junk on top of prior design mistakes).
Therefore we will not pollute the global object because we are using a local classMap object to lookup the required class.

Related

How to turn a string into class in typescript? [duplicate]

I want create object factory using ES6 but old-style syntax doesn't work with new.
I have next code:
export class Column {}
export class Sequence {}
export class Checkbox {}
export class ColumnFactory {
constructor() {
this.specColumn = {
__default: 'Column',
__sequence: 'Sequence',
__checkbox: 'Checkbox'
};
}
create(name) {
let className = this.specColumn[name] ? this.specColumn[name] : this.specColumn['__default'];
return new window[className](name); // this line throw error
}
}
let factory = new ColumnFactory();
let column = factory.create('userName');
What do I do wrong?
Don't put class names on that object. Put the classes themselves there, so that you don't have to rely on them being global and accessible (in browsers) through window.
Btw, there's no good reason to make this factory a class, you would probably only instantiate it once (singleton). Just make it an object:
export class Column {}
export class Sequence {}
export class Checkbox {}
export const columnFactory = {
specColumn: {
__default: Column, // <--
__sequence: Sequence, // <--
__checkbox: Checkbox // <--
},
create(name, ...args) {
let cls = this.specColumn[name] || this.specColumn.__default;
return new cls(...args);
}
};
There is a small & dirty way to do that:
function createClassByName(name,...a) {
var c = eval(name);
return new c(...a);
}
You can now create a class like that:
let c = createClassByName( 'Person', x, y );
The problem is that the classes are not properties of the window object. You can have an object with properties "pointing" to your classes instead:
class Column {}
class Sequence {}
class Checkbox {}
let classes = {
Column,
Sequence,
Checkbox
}
class ColumnFactory {
constructor() {
this.specColumn = {
__default: 'Column',
__sequence: 'Sequence',
__checkbox: 'Checkbox'
};
}
create(name) {
let className = this.specColumn[name] ? this.specColumn[name] : this.specColumn['__default'];
return new classes[className](name); // this line no longer throw error
}
}
let factory = new ColumnFactory();
let column = factory.create('userName');
export {ColumnFactory, Column, Sequence, Checkbox};
For those of you that are not using ES6 and want to know how you can create classes by using a string here is what I have done to get this to work.
"use strict";
class Person {
constructor(x, y) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
}
}
window.classes = {};
window.classes.Person = Person;
document.body.innerText = JSON.stringify(new window.classes["Person"](1, 2));
As you can see the easiest way to do this is to add the class to an object.
Here is the fiddle:
https://jsfiddle.net/zxg7dsng/1/
Here is an example project that uses this approach:
https://github.com/pdxjohnny/dist-rts-client-web
I prefer this method:
allThemClasses.js
export class A {}
export class B {}
export class C {}
script.js
import * as Classes from './allThemClasses';
const a = new Classes['A'];
const b = new Classes['B'];
const c = new Classes['C'];
I know this is an old post, but recently I've had the same question about how to instance a class dynamically
I'm using webpack so following the documentation there is a way to load a module dynamically using the import() function
js/classes/MyClass.js
class MyClass {
test = null;
constructor(param) {
console.log(param)
this.test = param;
}
}
js/app.js
var p = "example";
var className = "MyClass";
import('./classes/'+className).then(function(mod) {
let myClass = new mod[className](p);
console.log(myClass);
}, function(failMsg) {
console.error("Fail to load class"+className);
console.error(failMsg);
});
Beware: this method is asynchronous and I can't really tell the performance cost for it,
But it works perfectly on my simple program (worth a try ^^)
Ps: To be fare I'm new to Es6 (a couple of days) I'm more a C++ / PHP / Java developer.
I hope this helps anyone that come across this question and that is it not a bad practice ^^".
Clarification
There are similar questions to this, including this SO question that was closed, that are looking for proxy classes or factory functions in JavaScript; also called dynamic classes. This answer is a modern solution in case you landed on this answer looking for any of those things.
Answer / Solution
As of 2022 I think there is a more elegant solution for use in the browser. I made a class called Classes that self-registers the property Class (uppercase C) on the window; code below examples.
Now you can have classes that you want to be able to reference dynamically register themselves globally:
// Make a class:
class Handler {
handleIt() {
// Handling it...
}
}
// Have it register itself globally:
Class.add(Handler);
// OR if you want to be a little more clear:
window.Class.add(Handler);
Then later on in your code all you need is the name of the class you would like to get its original reference:
// Get class
const handler = Class.get('Handler');
// Instantiate class for use
const muscleMan = new (handler)();
Or, even easier, just instantiate it right away:
// Directly instantiate class for use
const muscleMan = Class.new('Handler', ...args);
Code
You can see the latest code on my gist. Add this script before all other scripts and all of your classes will be able to register with it.
/**
* Adds a global constant class that ES6 classes can register themselves with.
* This is useful for referencing dynamically named classes and instances
* where you may need to instantiate different extended classes.
*
* NOTE: This script should be called as soon as possible, preferably before all
* other scripts on a page.
*
* #class Classes
*/
class Classes {
#classes = {};
constructor() {
/**
* JavaScript Class' natively return themselves, we can take advantage
* of this to prevent duplicate setup calls from overwriting the global
* reference to this class.
*
* We need to do this since we are explicitly trying to keep a global
* reference on window. If we did not do this a developer could accidentally
* assign to window.Class again overwriting any classes previously registered.
*/
if (window.Class) {
// eslint-disable-next-line no-constructor-return
return window.Class;
}
// eslint-disable-next-line no-constructor-return
return this;
}
/**
* Add a class to the global constant.
*
* #method
* #param {Class} ref The class to add.
* #return {boolean} True if ths class was successfully registered.
*/
add(ref) {
if (typeof ref !== 'function') {
return false;
}
this.#classes[ref.prototype.constructor.name] = ref;
return true;
}
/**
* Checks if a class exists by name.
*
* #method
* #param {string} name The name of the class you would like to check.
* #return {boolean} True if this class exists, false otherwise.
*/
exists(name) {
if (this.#classes[name]) {
return true;
}
return false;
}
/**
* Retrieve a class by name.
*
* #method
* #param {string} name The name of the class you would like to retrieve.
* #return {Class|undefined} The class asked for or undefined if it was not found.
*/
get(name) {
return this.#classes[name];
}
/**
* Instantiate a new instance of a class by reference or name.
*
* #method
* #param {Class|name} name A reference to the class or the classes name.
* #param {...any} args Any arguments to pass to the classes constructor.
* #returns A new instance of the class otherwise an error is thrown.
* #throws {ReferenceError} If the class is not defined.
*/
new(name, ...args) {
// In case the dev passed the actual class reference.
if (typeof name === 'function') {
// eslint-disable-next-line new-cap
return new (name)(...args);
}
if (this.exists(name)) {
return new (this.#classes[name])(...args);
}
throw new ReferenceError(`${name} is not defined`);
}
/**
* An alias for the add method.
*
* #method
* #alias Classes.add
*/
register(ref) {
return this.add(ref);
}
}
/**
* Insure that Classes is available in the global scope as Class so other classes
* that wish to take advantage of Classes can rely on it being present.
*
* NOTE: This does not violate https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_reserved.asp
*/
const Class = new Classes();
window.Class = Class;
This is an old question but we can find three main approaches that are very clever and useful:
1. The Ugly
We can use eval to instantiate our class like this:
class Column {
constructor(c) {
this.c = c
console.log(`Column with ${this.c}`);
}
}
function instantiator(name, ...params) {
const c = eval(name)
return new c(...params)
}
const name = 'Column';
const column = instantiator(name, 'box')
console.log({column})
However, eval has a big caveat, if we don't sanitize and don't add some layers of security, then we will have a big security whole that can be expose.
2. The Good
If we know the class names that we will use, then we can create a lookup table like this:
class Column {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Column with ${c}`)
}
}
class Sequence {
constructor(a, b) {
console.log(`Sequence with ${a} and ${b}`)
}
}
class Checkbox {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Checkbox with ${c}`)
}
}
// construct dict object that contains our mapping between strings and classes
const classMap = new Map([
['Column', Column],
['Sequence', Sequence],
['Checkbox', Checkbox],
])
function instantiator(name, ...p) {
return new(classMap.get(name))(...p)
}
// make a class from a string
let object = instantiator('Column', 'box')
object = instantiator('Sequence', 'box', 'index')
object = instantiator('Checkbox', 'box')
3. The Pattern
Finally, we can just create a Factory class that will safety handle the allowed classes and throw an error if it can load it.
class Column {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Column with ${c}`)
}
}
class Sequence {
constructor(a, b) {
console.log(`Sequence with ${a} and ${b}`)
}
}
class Checkbox {
constructor(c) {
console.log(`Checkbox with ${c}`)
}
}
class ClassFactory {
static class(name) {
switch (name) {
case 'Column':
return Column
case 'Sequence':
return Sequence
case 'Checkbox':
return Checkbox
default:
throw new Error(`Could not instantiate ${name}`);
}
}
static create(name, ...p) {
return new(ClassFactory.class(name))(...p)
}
}
// make a class from a string
let object
object = ClassFactory.create('Column', 'box')
object = ClassFactory.create('Sequence', 'box', 'index')
object = ClassFactory.create('Checkbox', 'box')
I recommend The Good method. It is is clean and safe. Also, it should be better than using global or window object:
class definitions in ES6 are not automatically put on the global object like they would with other top level variable declarations (JavaScript trying to avoid adding more junk on top of prior design mistakes).
Therefore we will not pollute the global object because we are using a local classMap object to lookup the required class.

eslint no-unused-vars when using js classes

When I declare a class with ctor, and then use this class only as a function's input parameter, I get no-unused-vars from eslint.
Code:
/**
* A class
*/
class SampleClass{
/**
* Ctor
* #param {string} par - a parameter
*/
constructor(par) {
this.par = par;
}
}
/**
* Func
* #param {SampleClass} param - a sample class
* #returns {SampleClass} - the same class
*/
function fName(param) {
return param;
}
So as you can see, I use SampleClass both as input parameter and as return type of the function, but eslint shows error: 'A class "SampleClass" is defined but never used. eslint no-unused-vars'
How can i fix this? Of course, I need to leave this type of check workong.
I couldn't fully understand what you wanted to do with that function and class, but within my understanding, I think this would work
class SampleClass {
constructor(par){
this.par = par;
}
getInstance() {
return this.par
}
}
function fName(params) {
return params
}
const newClass = new SampleClass("param");
fName(newClass.getInstance())
I found that I need to use a cleverer eslint parser - #babel/eslintparser. It does not raise this error when I use classes.

How to properly annotate a cached mixin

export function Mixin(base) {
return class extends base {
foo = "bar";
}
}
class A extends Mixin(SuperClass) {
}
let a = new A;
a. // suggests foo
This works beautifully, but in my case more often than not SuperClass is the same constructor, so I figured it's a good idea to implement caching.
let cache = new Map();
export function Mixin(base) {
if (!cache.has(base)) {
cache.set(base, class extends base {
foo = "bar";
})
}
return cache.get(base);
}
class A extends Mixin(SuperClass) {
}
let a = new A;
a. // no longer suggests foo
So in order to revive autocomplete I split the action in two functions.
let cache = new Map();
function Mixin(base) {
return class extends base {
foo = "bar";
}
}
/**
* #returns {ReturnType<Mixin>}
*/
export function Cached(base) {
if (!cache.has(base)) {
cache.set(base, Mixin(base));
}
return cache.get(base);
}
class A extends Cached(HTMLElement) {}
let a = new A();
a. // suggests foo
a.inn // does not suggest innerHTML
How can I annotate Cached's return value such that it knows it will extend base?
I'm thinking something along the lines of the following, just can't figure out what would be the proper syntax:
/**
* #param {T} base
* #returns {ReturnType<Mixin> extends T}
*/
export function Cached(base) {
The cache has the implicit type Map<any, any>, it won't infer any other types, because JavaScript is way too permissive for the IDE to detect the exhaustive list of what types go inside the Map by parsing the rest of the code (even if you're using an ES6 module and the cache is not exported).
If you don't want to change your implementation just for a typing purpose, your best options are to use TypeScript or JSDoc type assertions
Here is a minimal example:
let cache = new Map();
/**
*
* #param {*} base
* #return {typeof mixin}
*/
export function Mixin(base) {
/**
* #alias mixin
*/
const mixin = class extends base {
foo = "bar";
}
if (!cache.has(base)) {
cache.set(base, mixin);
}
return cache.get(base);
}
class A extends Mixin(SuperClass) {
}
let a = new A;
a. // suggests foo
So this made me have another try which successfully auto-completed at my side.
Hoewever, I had to wrap the cache into a scope as follows:
class Foo {
foo = 'bar';
fooooooo = 'baaaaaaar';
}
class ClassMaker {
static _cache = new Map();
/**
*
* #param base
* #return {Foo}
*/
static getFromBase(base) {
if (!ClassMaker._cache.has(base)) {
ClassMaker._cache[base] = class extends base {
};
ClassMaker._cache[base].__proto__ = Foo.__proto__;
}
return ClassMaker._cache[base];
}
}
class Baz {
baz = 'bar';
}
class Unrelated {
foooooNotCompletedForReference = 'asd';
}
let a = ClassMaker.getFromBase(Baz);
Things thing does auto complete. Also note, it doesn't just show every symbol flying around, i.e., the Unrelated class does not get populated into the auto complete helper.
Note, however, JavaScript is not typed and if you feel like craving for such features you would be better of using TypeScript or Dart for that matter. All those auto suggestions in JavaScript can only be a best effort by analyzing the written code using additional tools. They will be flawed and there is no guarantees anyways.

Get array of class's properties without instantiating it?

It seems like you should be able to do this because building a form dynamically based off of a class definition (Angular) would work so much better if the logic could be written agnostically of the class. This would be scalable, so an addition of a field to the class would not also require an update to the logic producing the form and template.
Is there any way to do this or even an NPM module that will do this?
I found that I can do ClassName.toString() but it would be a pain to parse that. And I just might write a module to do it if nothing else.
I just feel like instantiating a dummy instance of the class for the purpose of enumerating over its properties is a poor strategy.
You could use Object.getOwnPropertyNames().
Example class:
class Foo {
setBar() {
throw Error('not implemented');
return false;
}
getBar() {
throw Error('not implemented');
return false;
}
}
And then
Object.getOwnPropertyNames(Foo.prototype)
results in
["constructor", "setBar", "getBar"]
While I was researching this I looked into Object.keys first, and although it didn't work, you may wish to reference the documentation for Object.keys's polyfill. It has code for stripping out constructor, toString, and the like, as well as properly implementing hasOwnProperty.
Also see Bergi's answer here.
Any way? Declare your class as a function, and put the properties on the prototype:
var Presidents = function() {
};
Presidents.prototype = {
"washington" : "george",
"adams" : "john"
}
console.log(Object.keys(Presidents.prototype))
// Output is
// [ 'washington', 'adams' ]
getOwnPropertyDescriptors of a class prototype will only expose methods and accessor descriptors - data properties can not be determined without instantiation (also because constructor arguments can influence the amount, types and values of props). There can be several reasons to not want to instantiate (e.g. because some static counter tracks instances) - therefore a workaround could be to dynamically create a copy of the class and instatiate that "shadow" along with sample constructor arguments.
/**
* get properties from class definition without instantiating it
*
* #param cls: class
* #param args: sample arguments to pass to shadow constructor
* #usage `const props = getInstanceProperties(MyClass);`
* #notice this will regex replace the classname (can be an issue with strings containing that substring)
*/
const getInstanceProperties = (cls, args = [], ignore = ['constructor', 'toString']) => {
const className = cls.prototype.constructor.name;
const shadowCode = cls.toString().replace(new RegExp(`${className}`, 'g'), `_${className}_`);
const shadowClass = eval(`(${shadowCode})`);
const o = new shadowClass(...args);
const methodsAndAccessors = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptors(cls.prototype);
const dataDescriptors = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptors(o);
const descriptors = Object.assign({}, methodsAndAccessors, dataDescriptors);
ignore.forEach(name => delete descriptors[name]);
return descriptors;
};
class Foo extends Object {
static instances = 0;
#myPrivateVar = 123;
myValue=123;
constructor(){
super();
this.myConstructorVar = ++Foo.instances;
}
myMethod() {}
set myAccessor(x){}
}
console.log(Object.keys(getInstanceProperties(Foo)));
will return:
[ 'myMethod', 'myAccessor', 'myValue', 'myConstructorProp' ]

Why don't ES6 classes support static properties? [duplicate]

I want to implement constants in a class, because that's where it makes sense to locate them in the code.
So far, I have been implementing the following workaround with static methods:
class MyClass {
static constant1() { return 33; }
static constant2() { return 2; }
// ...
}
I know there is a possibility to fiddle with prototypes, but many recommend against this.
Is there a better way to implement constants in ES6 classes?
Here's a few things you could do:
Export a const from the module. Depending on your use case, you could just:
export const constant1 = 33;
And import that from the module where necessary. Or, building on your static method idea, you could declare a static get accessor:
const constant1 = 33,
constant2 = 2;
class Example {
static get constant1() {
return constant1;
}
static get constant2() {
return constant2;
}
}
That way, you won't need parenthesis:
const one = Example.constant1;
Babel REPL Example
Then, as you say, since a class is just syntactic sugar for a function you can just add a non-writable property like so:
class Example {
}
Object.defineProperty(Example, 'constant1', {
value: 33,
writable : false,
enumerable : true,
configurable : false
});
Example.constant1; // 33
Example.constant1 = 15; // TypeError
It may be nice if we could just do something like:
class Example {
static const constant1 = 33;
}
But unfortunately this class property syntax is only in an ES7 proposal, and even then it won't allow for adding const to the property.
class Whatever {
static get MyConst() { return 10; }
}
let a = Whatever.MyConst;
Seems to work for me.
I'm using babel and the following syntax is working for me:
class MyClass {
static constant1 = 33;
static constant2 = {
case1: 1,
case2: 2,
};
// ...
}
MyClass.constant1 === 33
MyClass.constant2.case1 === 1
Please consider that you need the preset "stage-0".
To install it:
npm install --save-dev babel-preset-stage-0
// in .babelrc
{
"presets": ["stage-0"]
}
Update for stage:
it was moved on stage-3.
Update Babel 7:
As per Babel 7 stage presets are deprecated.
The Babel plugin to use is #babel/plugin-proposal-class-properties.
npm i --save-dev #babel/plugin-proposal-class-properties
{
"plugins": ["#babel/plugin-proposal-class-properties"]
}
Note: This plugin is included in #babel/preset-env
In this document it states:
There is (intentionally) no direct declarative way to define either prototype data properties (other than methods) class properties, or instance property
This means that it is intentionally like this.
Maybe you can define a variable in the constructor?
constructor(){
this.key = value
}
It is also possible to use Object.freeze on you class(es6)/constructor function(es5) object to make it immutable:
class MyConstants {}
MyConstants.staticValue = 3;
MyConstants.staticMethod = function() {
return 4;
}
Object.freeze(MyConstants);
// after the freeze, any attempts of altering the MyConstants class will have no result
// (either trying to alter, add or delete a property)
MyConstants.staticValue === 3; // true
MyConstants.staticValue = 55; // will have no effect
MyConstants.staticValue === 3; // true
MyConstants.otherStaticValue = "other" // will have no effect
MyConstants.otherStaticValue === undefined // true
delete MyConstants.staticMethod // false
typeof(MyConstants.staticMethod) === "function" // true
Trying to alter the class will give you a soft-fail (won't throw any errors, it will simply have no effect).
Maybe just put all your constants in a frozen object?
class MyClass {
constructor() {
this.constants = Object.freeze({
constant1: 33,
constant2: 2,
});
}
static get constant1() {
return this.constants.constant1;
}
doThisAndThat() {
//...
let value = this.constants.constant2;
//...
}
}
You can create a way to define static constants on a class using an odd feature of ES6 classes. Since statics are inherited by their subclasses, you can do the following:
const withConsts = (map, BaseClass = Object) => {
class ConstClass extends BaseClass { }
Object.keys(map).forEach(key => {
Object.defineProperty(ConstClass, key, {
value: map[key],
writable : false,
enumerable : true,
configurable : false
});
});
return ConstClass;
};
class MyClass extends withConsts({ MY_CONST: 'this is defined' }) {
foo() {
console.log(MyClass.MY_CONST);
}
}
Like https://stackoverflow.com/users/2784136/rodrigo-botti said, I think you're looking for Object.freeze(). Here's an example of a class with immutable statics:
class User {
constructor(username, age) {
if (age < User.minimumAge) {
throw new Error('You are too young to be here!');
}
this.username = username;
this.age = age;
this.state = 'active';
}
}
User.minimumAge = 16;
User.validStates = ['active', 'inactive', 'archived'];
deepFreeze(User);
function deepFreeze(value) {
if (typeof value === 'object' && value !== null) {
Object.freeze(value);
Object.getOwnPropertyNames(value).forEach(property => {
deepFreeze(value[property]);
});
}
return value;
}
I did this.
class Circle
{
constuctor(radius)
{
this.radius = radius;
}
static get PI()
{
return 3.14159;
}
}
The value of PI is protected from being changed since it is a value being returned from a function. You can access it via Circle.PI. Any attempt to assign to it is simply dropped on the floor in a manner similar to an attempt to assign to a string character via [].
You could use import * as syntax. Although not a class, they are real const variables.
Constants.js
export const factor = 3;
export const pi = 3.141592;
index.js
import * as Constants from 'Constants.js'
console.log( Constants.factor );
You can make the "constants" read-only (immutable) by freezing the class. e.g.
class Foo {
static BAR = "bat"; //public static read-only
}
Object.freeze(Foo);
/*
Uncaught TypeError: Cannot assign to read only property 'BAR' of function 'class Foo {
static BAR = "bat"; //public static read-only
}'
*/
Foo.BAR = "wut";
Here is one more way you can do
/*
one more way of declaring constants in a class,
Note - the constants have to be declared after the class is defined
*/
class Auto{
//other methods
}
Auto.CONSTANT1 = "const1";
Auto.CONSTANT2 = "const2";
console.log(Auto.CONSTANT1)
console.log(Auto.CONSTANT2);
Note - the Order is important, you cannot have the constants above
Usage
console.log(Auto.CONSTANT1);
The cleanest way I've found of doing this is with TypeScript - see How to implement class constants?
class MyClass {
static readonly CONST1: string = "one";
static readonly CONST2: string = "two";
static readonly CONST3: string = "three";
}
Just declare your variables as private and use a get method to retrieve them.
class MyClass {
#myConst = 'Something';
static #anotherConst = 'Something Else';
get myConst() {
return this.#myConst; // instance method
}
static get anotherConst() {
return MyClass.#anotherConst; // static method
}
}
let myClass = new MyClass();
console.log( myClass.myConst + ' is not ' + MyClass.anotherConst );
Users cannot change the original variable, and you can write the class to use the get methods rather than the private variables themselves.
One pattern that I use to expose error codes, i.e.,
I have many constants inside the module
I may not want to expose all constants to callers
I do not want to provide 1 static constant for one exposed constant
// inside the module
const Errors = {
INTERNAL: 100,
EMPTY_QUEUE: 101,
UNKNOWN_COMMAND: 102,
OK: 200,
MOVE: 201,
CREATE_DOT: 202,
PIXEL_MAPPING: 203
}
Object.freeze(Errors);
class PlotterError extends Error {
// use constant inside the module
code = Errors.INTERNAL;
constructor(message, code) {
super(message);
this.name = 'PlotterError';
this.code = code
}
}
// expose via static constant
Class Plotter {
.....
static get ERRORS() {
return Errors;
}
....
export Plotter;
// module ends
// in the caller
import {Plotter} from ...
try {
this.plotter.execute();
} catch(error) {
if(error.code == Plotter.ERRORS.EMPTY_QUEUE) {
//
}
}
We can also decide to expose only the constants we want by breaking the constants acr two objects.
If you are comfortable mixing and matching between function and class syntax you can declare constants after the class (the constants are 'lifted') . Note that Visual Studio Code will struggle to auto-format the mixed syntax, (though it works).
class MyClass {
// ...
}
MyClass.prototype.consts = {
constant1: 33,
constant2: 32
};
mc = new MyClass();
console.log(mc.consts.constant2);
Adding up to other answers you need to export the class to use in a different class. This is a typescript version of it.
//Constants.tsx
const DEBUG: boolean = true;
export class Constants {
static get DEBUG(): boolean {
return DEBUG;
}
}
//Anotherclass.tsx
import { Constants } from "Constants";
if (Constants.DEBUG) {
console.log("debug mode")
}
If trying to make a const/variable static to a class; try using the hash (#) to define a place holder, than a function to access it.
class Region {
// initially empty, not accessible from outside
static #empty_region = null;
/*
Make it visible to the outside and unchangeable
[note] created on first call to getter.
*/
static EMPTY() {
if (!this.#empty_region)
this.#empty_region = new Region(0, 0, 0, 0);
return this.#empty_region;
}
#reg = {x0:0, y0:0, x1:0, y1:0};
constructor(x0, y0, x1, y1) {
this.setRegion(x0, y0, x1, y1);
}
// setters/getters
}
Implementation:
let someRegion = Region.EMPTY();
let anotherRegion = Region.EMPTY();
Here You Go!
const Status = Object.freeze(class Status {
static Disabled = 0
static Live = 1
})

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