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Accessing this inside super() method - javascript

The code is as follows
class ComposerForm extends BaseForm {
constructor(formsObject, options) {
super({
...options,
setup: {},
});
this.formsObject = { ...formsObject };
}
..
}
Now i have a new form
class PreferencesForm extends ComposerForm {
constructor(company, options = {}) {
super(
{
upids: new UpidsForm(company).initialize(),
featureSettings: new FeatureSettingsForm(company)
},
options
);
}
}
When initialising the FeatureSettingsForm, i need to pass the Preference form along with the company object
Something like
{
featureSettings: new FeatureSettingsForm(company, {prefForm: this})
},
so that i can access the preference form inside featureSettings form.
But this cannot be done since this cannot be accessed inside the super method.
Any idea on how to achieve this?

If I understand you right,
You need to pass a FeatureSettingsForm instance in the object you're passing to super (ComposerForm) in the PreferencesForm constructor, and
You need this in order to create the FeatureSettingsForm instance
So you have a circular situation there, to do X you need Y but to do Y you need X.
If that summary is correct, you'll have to¹ change the ComposerForm constructor so that it allows calling it without the FeatureSettingsForm instance, and add a way to provide the FeatureSettingsForm instance later, (by assigning to a property or calling a method) once the constructor has finished, so you can access this.
¹ "...you'll have to..." Okay, technically there's a way around it where you could get this before calling the ComposerForm constructor, by falling back to ES5-level ways of creating "classes" rather than using class syntax. But it general, it's not best practice (FeatureSettingsForm may expect the instance to be fully ready) and there are downsides to have semi-initialized instances (that's why class syntax disallows this), so if you can do the refactoring above instead, that would be better. (If you want to do the ES5 thing anyway, my answer here shows an example of class compared to the near-equivalent ES5 syntax.)

How to get component instance in data section in vuejs template?

I have a component that has complex rendering logic.
I try to carry out this logic to helper classes, for simplifying.
To do this, in the data section (for reactivity), I create class references as follows:
export default {
data: () => ({
state: new InitialState(this),
query: new QueryController(this)
})
}
As I understand it, at this point the context of this is not yet defined.
So, I have two questions.
1) Is there a way to pass the this component context in the data section (without lifecycle hooks)?
2) Is the approach with references to external classes of vuejs philosophy contrary?

Component instance is already available when data function runs, this is one of reasons why it has been forced to be a function.
Due to how lexical this works with arrow functions, it's incorrect to use them to access dynamic this. It should be:
data() {
return {
state: new InitialState(this),
query: new QueryController(this)
};
})
The problem with InitialState(this) is that the entire component instance is passed instead of relevant data, this breaks the principle of least privilege.
Despite Vue isn't focused on OOP, there's nothing wrong with using classes. One of possible pitfalls is that classes may not play well with Vue reactivity because it puts restrictions on the implementation. Another pitfall is that classes cannot be serialized to JSON and back without additional measures, this introduces limitations to how application state can be handled.

As I understand it, at this point the context of this is not yet defined.
Only because of the way you've written the code. The component instance does exist and is available. It is sometimes used to access the values of props for determining the initial values of data properties.
For example, here is an example from the documentation:
https://v2.vuejs.org/v2/guide/components-props.html#One-Way-Data-Flow
export default {
props: ['initialCounter'],
data: function () {
return {
counter: this.initialCounter
}
}
}
The reason why your code doesn't work is because you are using an arrow function. If you change it to the following then this will be available:
export default {
data () {
return {
state: new InitialState(this),
query: new QueryController(this)
}
}
}
See also the note here:
https://v2.vuejs.org/v2/api/#data
Note that if you use an arrow function with the data property, this won’t be the component’s instance, but you can still access the instance as the function’s first argument
As to your other question about whether using classes like this is contrary to Vue...
I don't think the use of classes like this is encouraged but they can be made to work so long as you understand the limitations. If you have a clear understanding of how Vue reactivity works, especially the rewriting of properties, then it is possible to write classes like this and for them to work fine. The key is to ensure that any properties you want to be reactive are exposed as properties of the object so Vue can rewrite them.
If you don't need reactivity on these objects then don't put them in data. You'd be better off just creating properties within the created hook instead so the reactivity system doesn't waste time trying to add reactivity to them. So long as they are properties of the instance they will still be accessible in your templates, there's nothing special about using data from that perspective.

I think computed is a better way to do what you want
export default {
computed:{
state(){
return new InitialState(this);
},
query(){
return new QueryController(this);
}
}
}

Vue data not available until JSON.stringify() is called

I'm not sure how to tackle this issue because there's quite a bit into it, and the behavior is one I've never seen before from JavaScript or from Vue.js
Of course, I will try to keep the code minimal to the most critical and pieces
I'm using vue-class-component(6.3.2), so my Vue(2.5.17) components look like classes :)
This particular component looks like so:
import GameInterface from '#/GameInterface';
class GameComponent extends Vue {
public gameInterface = GameInterface();
public mounted() {
this.gameInterface.launch();
}
}
GameInterface return an object with a launch method and other game variables.
In the game interface file to method looks something like this:
const GameInterface = function () {
const obj = {
gameState: {
players: {},
},
gameInitialized: false,
launch() => {
game = createMyGame(obj); // set gameInitialized to true
},
};
return obj;
}
export default GameInterface;
Great, it works, the object is passed onto my Phaser game :) and it is also returned by the method, meaning that Vue can now use this object.
At some point I have a getter method in my Vue class that looks like so:
get currentPlayer() {
if (!this.gameInterface.gameInitialized) return null;
if (!this.gameInterface.gameState.players[this.user.id]) {
return null;
}
return this.gameInterface.gameState.players[this.user.id];
}
And sure enough, null is returned even though the player and id is clearly there.
When I console.log this.user.id I get 4, and gameInterface.gameState.players returns an object with getters for players like so:
{
4: { ... },
5: { ... },
}
Alright, so it does not return the player even though the object and key are being passed correctly...
But I found an extremely strange way to "FIX" this issue: By adding JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(gameState)) like so
get currentPlayer() {
// ...
if (!this.gameInterface.gameState.players[this.user.id]) {
// add this line
JSON.stringify(this.gameInterface.gameState);
return null;
}
return this.gameInterface.gameState.players[this.user.id];
}
It successfully returns the current player for us... Strange no?
My guess is that when we do this, we "bump" the object, Vue notices some change because of this and updates the object correctly. Does anyone know what I'm missing here?

After working on the problem with a friend, I found the underlying issue being a JavaScript-specific one involving Vue's reactive nature.
https://v2.vuejs.org/v2/guide/reactivity.html#Change-Detection-Caveats
In this section of the documentation, a caveat of Vue's change detection is discussed:
Vue cannot detect property addition or deletion. Since Vue performs the getter/setter conversion process during instance initialization, a property must be present in the data object in order for Vue to convert it and make it reactive.
When, in my game run-time, I set players like so:
gameObj.gameState.players[user.id] = {...playerData}
I am adding a new property that Vue has not converted on initialization, and Vue does not detect this change. This is a simple concept I failed to take into account when developing my game run-time.
In order to correctly set a new player, I've decided to use the spread operator to change the entirety of the players object, which Vue is reacting to, and in turn, Vue will detect my player being added like so:
gameObj.gameState.players = {
...gameObj.gameState.players,
[user.id]: {...playerData}
}
Vue also discusses another method called $set, which you can read on the same page.

Angular 2: How to detect changes in an array? (#input property)

I have a parent component that retrieves an array of objects using an ajax request.
This component has two children components: One of them shows the objects in a tree structure and the other one renders its content in a table format. The parent passes the array to their children through an #input property and they display the content properly. Everything as expected.
The problem occurs when you change some field within the objects: the child components are not notified of those changes. Changes are only triggered if you manually reassign the array to its variable.
I'm used to working with Knockout JS and I need to get an effect similar to that of observableArrays.
I've read something about DoCheck but I'm not sure how it works.

OnChanges Lifecycle Hook will trigger only when input property's instance changes.
If you want to check whether an element inside the input array has been added, moved or removed, you can use IterableDiffers inside the DoCheck Lifecycle Hook as follows:
constructor(private iterableDiffers: IterableDiffers) {
this.iterableDiffer = iterableDiffers.find([]).create(null);
}
ngDoCheck() {
let changes = this.iterableDiffer.diff(this.inputArray);
if (changes) {
console.log('Changes detected!');
}
}
If you need to detect changes in objects inside an array, you will need to iterate through all elements, and apply KeyValueDiffers for each element. (You can do this in parallel with previous check).
Visit this post for more information: Detect changes in objects inside array in Angular2

You can always create a new reference to the array by merging it with an empty array:
this.yourArray = [{...}, {...}, {...}];
this.yourArray[0].yourModifiedField = "whatever";
this.yourArray = [].concat(this.yourArray);
The code above will change the array reference and it will trigger the OnChanges mechanism in children components.

Read following article, don't miss mutable vs immutable objects.
Key issue is that you mutate array elements, while array reference stays the same. And Angular2 change detection checks only array reference to detect changes. After you understand concept of immutable objects you would understand why you have an issue and how to solve it.
I use redux store in one of my projects to avoid this kind of issues.
https://blog.thoughtram.io/angular/2016/02/22/angular-2-change-detection-explained.html

You can use IterableDiffers
It's used by *ngFor
constructor(private _differs: IterableDiffers) {}
ngOnChanges(changes: SimpleChanges): void {
if (!this._differ && value) {
this._differ = this._differs.find(value).create(this.ngForTrackBy);
}
}
ngDoCheck(): void {
if (this._differ) {
const changes = this._differ.diff(this.ngForOf);
if (changes) this._applyChanges(changes);
}
}

It's work for me:
#Component({
selector: 'my-component',
templateUrl: './my-component.component.html',
styleUrls: ['./my-component.component.scss']
})
export class MyComponent implements DoCheck {
#Input() changeArray: MyClassArray[]= [];
private differ: IterableDiffers;
constructor(private differs: IterableDiffers) {
this.differ = differs;
}
ngDoCheck() {
const changes = this.differ.find(this.insertedTasks);
if (changes) {
this.myMethodAfterChange();
}
}

This already appears answered. However for future problem seekers, I wanted to add something missed when I was researching and debugging a change detection problem I had. Now, my issue was a little isolated, and admittedly a stupid mistake on my end, but nonetheless relevant.
When you are updating the values in the Array or Object in reference, ensure that you are in the correct scope. I set myself into a trap by using setInterval(myService.function, 1000), where myService.function() would update the values of a public array, I used outside the service. This never actually updated the array, as the binding was off, and the correct usage should have been setInterval(myService.function.bind(this), 1000). I wasted my time trying change detection hacks, when it was a silly/simple blunder. Eliminate scope as a culprit before trying change detection solutions; it might save you some time.

Instead of triggering change detection via concat method, it might be more elegant to use ES6 destructuring operator:
this.yourArray[0].yourModifiedField = "whatever";
this.yourArray = [...this.yourArray];

You can use an impure pipe if you are directly using the array in your components template. (This example is for simple arrays that don't need deep checking)
#Pipe({
name: 'arrayChangeDetector',
pure: false
})
export class ArrayChangeDetectorPipe implements PipeTransform {
private differ: IterableDiffer<any>;
constructor(iDiff: IterableDiffers) {
this.differ = iDiff.find([]).create();
}
transform(value: any[]): any[] {
if (this.differ.diff(value)) {
return [...value];
}
return value;
}
}
<cmp [items]="arrayInput | arrayChangeDetector"></cmp>
For those time travelers among us still hitting array problems here is a reproduction of the issue along with several possible solutions.
https://stackblitz.com/edit/array-value-changes-not-detected-ang-8
Solutions include:
NgDoCheck
Using a Pipe
Using Immutable JS NPM github

Aurelia binding: property-getter called repeatedly

I'm currently learning and using Aurelia and something kind of weird (maybe normal) is happening.
When using the following code
export class NavBar {
get username() {
console.log('o_o')
return 'name' + Date.now()
}
}
And in the template ${username}, the username is always updating, several times per seconds (and console.log are logged several times as well of course).
The workaround is to simply use a function and not a getter and call ${username()} in the template. But is this behaviour normal? So should I use sometimes getter sometimes not?
Thanks!

This is normal, Aurelia polls your property for changes because it has no way of knowing when your property-getter will return a different value.
If it were a simple property (without a getter), Aurelia could observe the property directly, no polling would be needed.
To avoid the polling you could tell Aurelia's binding system what to observe:
import {computedFrom} from 'aurelia-framework';
export class Foo {
_username = 'hello';
#computedFrom('_username')
get username() {
return this._username;
}
}
Another option would be to use a one-time binding:
${username & oneTime}