Related
I need some guidance or expert knowledge on JavaScript capabilities.
I'm studying TypeScript ATM, specifically decorators functionality.
Is there a way to dynamically add a getter method to a Prototype object so that it is executed in place of the plain property access on an instance.
Here's some code for example:
class Car {
#decorate
color: string = 'red';
drive(): {
return 'Driving';
}
}
function decorate(target, key): void {
//would be cool to add a getter and update
//the prototype in target to contain such getter
//I know this won't work, but to get the idea.
target[key] = get function() {
console.log(`Accessing property: ${key}`);
return eval(`this.${key}`)
}
}
Then, when I would create and object and try to access .color
const car = new Car();
car.color;
ideally I would see at the console
Accessing property: color
You can use Proxy in JavaScript. As MDN states, it allows you to create an object that can be used in place of the original object, but which may redefine fundamental Object operations like getting, setting, and defining properties. Proxy objects are commonly used to log property accesses, validate, format, or sanitize inputs, and so on.
class Car {
color = 'red'
drive() {
return 'Driving'
}
}
const proxy = new Proxy(new Car(), {
get(target, key) {
console.log(`Accessing property: ${key}`);
return Reflect.get(target, key)
}
})
proxy.color // prints "Accessing property: color" and returns value of color.
In plain javascript you could use Object.defineProperty to dinamicaly add getters and setters to object.
That was my inital comment.
If you will to decorate only certain fields of the object then MDN example would be the easiest way to this properly:
const o = {a: 0};
Object.defineProperty(o, 'b', { get() { return this.a + 1; } });
console.log(o.b) // Runs the getter, which yields a + 1 (which is 1)
I'm wondering when I should use
Object.defineProperty
to create new properties for an object. I'm aware that I'm able to set things like
enumerable: false
but when do you need this really? If you just set a property like
myObject.myprop = 5;
its descriptors are all set to true, right? I'm actually more curious when you guys use that rather verbose call to .defineProperty() and for what reasons.
Object.defineProperty is mainly used to set properties with specific property descriptors (e.g. read-only (constants), enumerability (to not show a property in a for (.. in ..) loop, getters, setters).
"use strict";
var myObj = {}; // Create object
// Set property (+descriptor)
Object.defineProperty(myObj, 'myprop', {
value: 5,
writable: false
});
console.log(myObj.myprop);// 5
myObj.myprop = 1; // In strict mode: TypeError: myObj.myprop is read-only
Example
This method extends the Object prototype with a property. Only the getter is defined, and the enumerability is set to false.
Object.defineProperty(Object.prototype, '__CLASS__', {
get: function() {
return Object.prototype.toString.call(this);
},
enumerable: false // = Default
});
Object.keys({}); // []
console.log([].__CLASS__); // "[object Array]"
Features like 'enumerable' are rarely used in my experience.
The major use case is computed properties:
var myObj = {};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
Object.defineProperty(myObj, 'area', {
get: function() {
return this.width*this.height;
}
});
console.log(myObj.area);
A really good reason for using Object.defineProperty is that it lets you loop through a function in an object as a computed property, which executes the function instead of returning the function's body.
For example:
var myObj = {};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
Object.defineProperty(myObj, 'area', {
get: function() {
return this.width*this.height;
},
enumerable: true
});
for (var key in myObj) {
if (myObj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
console.log(key + " -> " + myObj[key]);
}
}
//width -> 20, height -> 20, area -> 400
Versus adding the function as a property to an object literal:
var myObj = {};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
myObj.area = function() {
return this.width*this.height;
};
for (var key in myObj) {
if (myObj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
console.log(key + " -> " + myObj[key]);
}
}
// width -> 20, height -> 20, area -> function() { return this.width*this.height;}
Make sure you set the enumerable property to true in order to loop through it.
For example, that's how Vue.js keeps track of changes in the data object:
When you pass a plain JavaScript object to a Vue instance as its data option, Vue will walk through all of its properties and convert them to getter/setters using Object.defineProperty. This is an ES5-only and un-shimmable feature, which is why Vue doesn’t support IE8 and below.
The getter/setters are invisible to the user, but under the hood they enable Vue to perform dependency-tracking and change-notification when properties are accessed or modified.
[...]
Keep in mind that even a super slim and basic version of Vue.js would use something more than just Object.defineProperty, but the main functionality comes from it:
Here you can see an article where the author implements a minimal PoC version of something like Vue.js: https://medium.com/js-dojo/understand-vue-reactivity-implementation-step-by-step-599c3d51cd6c
And here a talk (in Spanish) where the speaker builds something similar while explaining reactivity in Vue.js: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axXwWU-L7RM
Summary:
In Javascript Objects are collections of key-value pairs.
Object.defineProperty() is a function which can define a new property on an object and can set the following attributes of a property:
value <any>: The value associated with the key
writable <boolean>: if writable is set to true The property can be updated by assigning a new value to it. If set to false you can't change the value.
enumerable <boolean>: if enumerable is set to true Property can be accessed via a for..in loop. Furthermore are the only the enumerable property keys returned with Object.keys()
configurable <boolean>: If configurable is set to false you cannot change change the property attributes (value/writable/enumerable/configurable), also since you cannot change the value you cannot delete it using the delete operator.
Example:
let obj = {};
Object.defineProperty(obj, 'prop1', {
value: 1,
writable: false,
enumerable: false,
configurable: false
}); // create a new property (key=prop1, value=1)
Object.defineProperty(obj, 'prop2', {
value: 2,
writable: true,
enumerable: true,
configurable: true
}); // create a new property (key=prop2, value=2)
console.log(obj.prop1, obj.prop2); // both props exists
for(const props in obj) {
console.log(props);
// only logs prop2 because writable is true in prop2 and false in prop1
}
obj.prop1 = 100;
obj.prop2 = 100;
console.log(obj.prop1, obj.prop2);
// only prop2 is changed because prop2 is writable, prop1 is not
delete obj.prop1;
delete obj.prop2;
console.log(obj.prop1, obj.prop2);
// only prop2 is deleted because prop2 is configurable and prop1 is not
Object.defineProperty prevents you from accidentally assigning values to some key in its prototype chain. With this method you assign only to that particular object level(not to any key in prototype chain).
For example:
There is an object like {key1: value1, key2: value2} and you don't know exactly its prototype chain or by mistake you miss it and there is some property 'color' somewhere in prototype chain then-
using dot(.) assignment-
this operation will assign value to key 'color' in prototype chain(if key exist somewhere) and you will find the object with no change as .
obj.color= 'blue'; // obj remain same as {key1: value1, key2: value2}
using Object.defineProperty method-
Object.defineProperty(obj, 'color', {
value: 'blue'
});
// now obj looks like {key1: value1, key2: value2, color: 'blue'}. it adds property to the same level.Then you can iterate safely with method Object.hasOwnProperty().
One neat use case I have seen for defineProperty is for libraries to provide an error property to the user which, if it's not accessed within a certain interval you would log the error yourself. For example:
let logErrorTimeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
if (error) {
console.error('Unhandled (in <your library>)', error.stack || error);
}
}, 10);
Object.defineProperty(data, 'error', {
configurable: true,
enumerable: true,
get: () => {
clearTimeout(logErrorTimeoutId);
return error;
},
});
Source for this code: https://github.com/apollographql/react-apollo/blob/ddd3d8faabf135dca691d20ce8ab0bc24ccc414e/src/graphql.tsx#L510
A good use is when you need to do some interception or apply a classical Observer/Observable pattern in a elegant way:
https://www.monterail.com/blog/2016/how-to-build-a-reactive-engine-in-javascript-part-1-observable-objects
A very useful case is to monitor changes to something and act on them. It's easy because you can have callback functions fire whenever the value gets set. Here's a basic example.
You have an object Player that can be playing or not playing. You want something to happen right when it starts playing, and right when it stops playing.
function Player(){}
Object.defineProperty(Player.prototype, 'is_playing', {
get(){
return this.stored_is_playing; // note: this.is_playing would result in an endless loop
},
set(newVal){
this.stored_is_playing = newVal;
if (newVal === true) {
showPauseButton();
} else {
showPlayButton();
}
}
});
const cdplayer = new Player();
cdplayer.is_playing = true; // showPauseButton fires
This answer is related to a couple other answers here, which are good stepping points for more information, but with no need to follow external links to read about libraries or programming paradigms.
#Gerard Simpson
If 'area' should be enumerable it can be written without Object.defineProperty, too.
var myObj = {
get area() { return this.width * this.height }
};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
for (var key in myObj) {
if (myObj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
console.log(key + " -> " + myObj[key]);
}
}
//area -> 400, width -> 20, height -> 20
I'm working on creating an object definition to encapsulate several properties. I have 4 requirements for this object:
more than one instance can be created at any time
only properties defined on the object can be set/get
the object must be stringify-able (just the properties and associated values)
the stringified version must be parse-able and return the object
This is a simplified version of what I have so far:
function Car() {
var _make;
Object.defineProperty(this, 'make', {
get: function() {
return _make;
},
set: function(make) {
_make = make;
}
});
Object.preventExtensions(this);
}
I'm unsure if this is the simplest approach for defining an object with getters and setters. Is there an alternative to using Object.defineProperty, or is this the new norm?
This approach also requires me to write my own stringify method (see below) since calling JSON.stringify will strip off functions, and this will strip off make. Is there an alternative to writing my own? Can I change my object definition somehow?
Car.prototype.stringify = function () {
return JSON.stringify({ make: this.make});
}
Additionally, I must supply an optional constructor arg to be able to instantiate a Car from a JSON object:
function Car(car) {
var _make;
if(car !== undefined && car != null) {
_make = car.make;
}
...
}
Again, is this the best approach to meet all the requirements?
To show up make property while using JSON.stringify, you have to set the enumerable to True (By default, False).
configurable: true if and only if the type of this property descriptor may be changed and if the property may be deleted from the corresponding object.
Defaults to false.
enumerable: true if and only if this property shows up during enumeration of the properties on the corresponding object.
Defaults to false.
function Car() {
var _make;
Object.defineProperty(this, 'make', {
get: function() {
return _make;
},
set: function(make) {
_make = make;
},
enumerable:true
});
Object.preventExtensions(this);
}
I looked around for how to use the Object.defineProperty method, but couldn't find anything decent.
Someone gave me this snippet of code:
Object.defineProperty(player, "health", {
get: function () {
return 10 + ( player.level * 15 );
}
})
But I don't understand it. Mainly, the get is what I can't get (pun intended). How does it work?
Since you asked a similar question, let's take it to step by step. It's a bit longer, but it may save you much more time than I have spent on writing this:
Property is an OOP feature designed for clean separation of client code. For example, in some e-shop you might have objects like this:
function Product(name,price) {
this.name = name;
this.price = price;
this.discount = 0;
}
var sneakers = new Product("Sneakers",20); // {name:"Sneakers",price:20,discount:0}
var tshirt = new Product("T-shirt",10); // {name:"T-shirt",price:10,discount:0}
Then in your client code (the e-shop), you can add discounts to your products:
function badProduct(obj) { obj.discount+= 20; ... }
function generalDiscount(obj) { obj.discount+= 10; ... }
function distributorDiscount(obj) { obj.discount+= 15; ... }
Later, the e-shop owner might realize that the discount can't be greater than say 80%. Now you need to find EVERY occurrence of the discount modification in the client code and add a line
if(obj.discount>80) obj.discount = 80;
Then the e-shop owner may further change his strategy, like "if the customer is reseller, the maximal discount can be 90%". And you need to do the change on multiple places again plus you need to remember to alter these lines anytime the strategy is changed. This is a bad design. That's why encapsulation is the basic principle of OOP. If the constructor was like this:
function Product(name,price) {
var _name=name, _price=price, _discount=0;
this.getName = function() { return _name; }
this.setName = function(value) { _name = value; }
this.getPrice = function() { return _price; }
this.setPrice = function(value) { _price = value; }
this.getDiscount = function() { return _discount; }
this.setDiscount = function(value) { _discount = value; }
}
Then you can just alter the getDiscount (accessor) and setDiscount (mutator) methods. The problem is that most of the members behave like common variables, just the discount needs special care here. But good design requires encapsulation of every data member to keep the code extensible. So you need to add lots of code that does nothing. This is also a bad design, a boilerplate antipattern. Sometimes you can't just refactor the fields to methods later (the eshop code may grow large or some third-party code may depend on the old version), so the boilerplate is lesser evil here. But still, it is evil. That's why properties were introduced into many languages. You could keep the original code, just transform the discount member into a property with get and set blocks:
function Product(name,price) {
this.name = name;
this.price = price;
//this.discount = 0; // <- remove this line and refactor with the code below
var _discount; // private member
Object.defineProperty(this,"discount",{
get: function() { return _discount; },
set: function(value) { _discount = value; if(_discount>80) _discount = 80; }
});
}
// the client code
var sneakers = new Product("Sneakers",20);
sneakers.discount = 50; // 50, setter is called
sneakers.discount+= 20; // 70, setter is called
sneakers.discount+= 20; // 80, not 90!
alert(sneakers.discount); // getter is called
Note the last but one line: the responsibility for correct discount value was moved from the client code (e-shop definition) to the product definition. The product is responsible for keeping its data members consistent. Good design is (roughly said) if the code works the same way as our thoughts.
So much about properties. But javascript is different from pure Object-oriented languages like C# and codes the features differently:
In C#, transforming fields into properties is a breaking change, so public fields should be coded as Auto-Implemented Properties if your code might be used in the separately compiled client.
In Javascript, the standard properties (data member with getter and setter described above) are defined by accessor descriptor (in the link you have in your question). Exclusively, you can use data descriptor (so you can't use i.e. value and set on the same property):
accessor descriptor = get + set (see the example above)
get must be a function; its return value is used in reading the property; if not specified, the default is undefined, which behaves like a function that returns undefined
set must be a function; its parameter is filled with RHS in assigning a value to property; if not specified, the default is undefined, which behaves like an empty function
data descriptor = value + writable (see the example below)
value default undefined; if writable, configurable and enumerable (see below) are true, the property behaves like an ordinary data field
writable - default false; if not true, the property is read only; attempt to write is ignored without error*!
Both descriptors can have these members:
configurable - default false; if not true, the property can't be deleted; attempt to delete is ignored without error*!
enumerable - default false; if true, it will be iterated in for(var i in theObject); if false, it will not be iterated, but it is still accessible as public
* unless in strict mode - in that case JS stops execution with TypeError unless it is caught in try-catch block
To read these settings, use Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor().
Learn by example:
var o = {};
Object.defineProperty(o,"test",{
value: "a",
configurable: true
});
console.log(Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(o,"test")); // check the settings
for(var i in o) console.log(o[i]); // nothing, o.test is not enumerable
console.log(o.test); // "a"
o.test = "b"; // o.test is still "a", (is not writable, no error)
delete(o.test); // bye bye, o.test (was configurable)
o.test = "b"; // o.test is "b"
for(var i in o) console.log(o[i]); // "b", default fields are enumerable
If you don't wish to allow the client code such cheats, you can restrict the object by three levels of confinement:
Object.preventExtensions(yourObject) prevents new properties to be added to yourObject. Use Object.isExtensible(<yourObject>) to check if the method was used on the object. The prevention is shallow (read below).
Object.seal(yourObject) same as above and properties can not be removed (effectively sets configurable: false to all properties). Use Object.isSealed(<yourObject>) to detect this feature on the object. The seal is shallow (read below).
Object.freeze(yourObject) same as above and properties can not be changed (effectively sets writable: false to all properties with data descriptor). Setter's writable property is not affected (since it doesn't have one). The freeze is shallow: it means that if the property is Object, its properties ARE NOT frozen (if you wish to, you should perform something like "deep freeze", similar to deep copy - cloning). Use Object.isFrozen(<yourObject>) to detect it.
You don't need to bother with this if you write just a few lines fun. But if you want to code a game (as you mentioned in the linked question), you should care about good design. Try to google something about antipatterns and code smell. It will help you to avoid situations like "Oh, I need to completely rewrite my code again!", it can save you months of despair if you want to code a lot. Good luck.
get is a function that is called when you try to read the value player.health, like in:
console.log(player.health);
It's effectively not much different than:
player.getHealth = function(){
return 10 + this.level*15;
}
console.log(player.getHealth());
The opposite of get is set, which would be used when you assign to the value. Since there is no setter, it seems that assigning to the player's health is not intended:
player.health = 5; // Doesn't do anything, since there is no set function defined
A very simple example:
var player = {
level: 5
};
Object.defineProperty(player, "health", {
get: function() {
return 10 + (player.level * 15);
}
});
console.log(player.health); // 85
player.level++;
console.log(player.health); // 100
player.health = 5; // Does nothing
console.log(player.health); // 100
defineProperty is a method on Object which allow you to configure the properties to meet some criterias.
Here is a simple example with an employee object with two properties firstName & lastName and append the two properties by overriding the toString method on the object.
var employee = {
firstName: "Jameel",
lastName: "Moideen"
};
employee.toString=function () {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
};
console.log(employee.toString());
You will get Output as : Jameel Moideen
I am going to change the same code by using defineProperty on the object
var employee = {
firstName: "Jameel",
lastName: "Moideen"
};
Object.defineProperty(employee, 'toString', {
value: function () {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
},
writable: true,
enumerable: true,
configurable: true
});
console.log(employee.toString());
The first parameter is the name of the object and then second parameter is name of the property we are adding , in our case it’s toString and then the last parameter is json object which have a value going to be a function and three parameters writable,enumerable and configurable.Right now I just declared everything as true.
If u run the example you will get Output as : Jameel Moideen
Let’s understand why we need the three properties such as writable,enumerable and configurable.
writable
One of the very annoying part of the javascript is , if you change the toString property to something else for example
if you run this again , everything gets breaks.
Let’s change writable to false. If run the same again you will get the correct output as ‘Jameel Moideen’ . This property will prevent overwrite this property later.
enumerable
if you print all the keys inside the object , you can see all the properties including toString.
console.log(Object.keys(employee));
if you set enumerable to false , you can hide toString property from everybody else. If run this again you will get firstName,lastName
configurable
if someone later redefined the object on later for example enumerable to true and run it. You can see toString property came again.
var employee = {
firstName: "Jameel",
lastName: "Moideen"
};
Object.defineProperty(employee, 'toString', {
value: function () {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
},
writable: false,
enumerable: false,
configurable: true
});
//change enumerable to false
Object.defineProperty(employee, 'toString', {
enumerable: true
});
employee.toString="changed";
console.log(Object.keys(employee));
you can restrict this behavior by set configurable to false.
Orginal reference of this information is from my personal Blog
Basically, defineProperty is a method that takes in 3 parameters - an object, a property, and a descriptor. What is happening in this particular call is the "health" property of the player object is getting assigned to 10 plus 15 times that player object's level.
yes no more function extending for setup setter & getter
this is my example Object.defineProperty(obj,name,func)
var obj = {};
['data', 'name'].forEach(function(name) {
Object.defineProperty(obj, name, {
get : function() {
return 'setter & getter';
}
});
});
console.log(obj.data);
console.log(obj.name);
Object.defineProperty() is a global function..Its not available inside the function which declares the object otherwise.You'll have to use it statically...
Summary:
Object.defineProperty(player, "health", {
get: function () {
return 10 + ( player.level * 15 );
}
});
Object.defineProperty is used in order to make a new property on the player object. Object.defineProperty is a function which is natively present in the JS runtime environemnt and takes the following arguments:
Object.defineProperty(obj, prop, descriptor)
The object on which we want to define a new property
The name of the new property we want to define
descriptor object
The descriptor object is the interesting part. In here we can define the following things:
configurable <boolean>: If true the property descriptor may be changed and the property may be deleted from the object. If configurable is false the descriptor properties which are passed in Object.defineProperty cannot be changed.
Writable <boolean>: If true the property may be overwritten using the assignment operator.
Enumerable <boolean>: If true the property can be iterated over in a for...in loop. Also when using the Object.keys function the key will be present. If the property is false they will not be iterated over using a for..in loop and not show up when using Object.keys.
get <function> : A function which is called whenever is the property is required. Instead of giving the direct value this function is called and the returned value is given as the value of the property
set <function> : A function which is called whenever is the property is assigned. Instead of setting the direct value this function is called and the returned value is used to set the value of the property.
Example:
const player = {
level: 10
};
Object.defineProperty(player, "health", {
configurable: true,
enumerable: false,
get: function() {
console.log('Inside the get function');
return 10 + (player.level * 15);
}
});
console.log(player.health);
// the get function is called and the return value is returned as a value
for (let prop in player) {
console.log(prop);
// only prop is logged here, health is not logged because is not an iterable property.
// This is because we set the enumerable to false when defining the property
}
import { CSSProperties } from 'react'
import { BLACK, BLUE, GREY_DARK, WHITE } from '../colours'
export const COLOR_ACCENT = BLUE
export const COLOR_DEFAULT = BLACK
export const FAMILY = "'Segoe UI', sans-serif"
export const SIZE_LARGE = '26px'
export const SIZE_MEDIUM = '20px'
export const WEIGHT = 400
type Font = {
color: string,
size: string,
accent: Font,
default: Font,
light: Font,
neutral: Font,
xsmall: Font,
small: Font,
medium: Font,
large: Font,
xlarge: Font,
xxlarge: Font
} & (() => CSSProperties)
function font (this: Font): CSSProperties {
const css = {
color: this.color,
fontFamily: FAMILY,
fontSize: this.size,
fontWeight: WEIGHT
}
delete this.color
delete this.size
return css
}
const dp = (type: 'color' | 'size', name: string, value: string) => {
Object.defineProperty(font, name, { get () {
this[type] = value
return this
}})
}
dp('color', 'accent', COLOR_ACCENT)
dp('color', 'default', COLOR_DEFAULT)
dp('color', 'light', COLOR_LIGHT)
dp('color', 'neutral', COLOR_NEUTRAL)
dp('size', 'xsmall', SIZE_XSMALL)
dp('size', 'small', SIZE_SMALL)
dp('size', 'medium', SIZE_MEDIUM)
export default font as Font
Defines a new property directly on an object, or modifies an existing property on an object, and return the object.
Note: You call this method directly on the Object constructor rather
than on an instance of type Object.
const object1 = {};
Object.defineProperty(object1, 'property1', {
value: 42,
writable: false, //If its false can't modify value using equal symbol
enumerable: false, // If its false can't able to get value in Object.keys and for in loop
configurable: false //if its false, can't able to modify value using defineproperty while writable in false
});
Simple explanation about define Property.
Example code: https://jsfiddle.net/manoj_antony32/pu5n61fs/
Object.defineProperty(Array.prototype, "last", {
get: function() {
if (this[this.length -1] == undefined) { return [] }
else { return this[this.length -1] }
}
});
console.log([1,2,3,4].last) //returns 4
I'm wondering when I should use
Object.defineProperty
to create new properties for an object. I'm aware that I'm able to set things like
enumerable: false
but when do you need this really? If you just set a property like
myObject.myprop = 5;
its descriptors are all set to true, right? I'm actually more curious when you guys use that rather verbose call to .defineProperty() and for what reasons.
Object.defineProperty is mainly used to set properties with specific property descriptors (e.g. read-only (constants), enumerability (to not show a property in a for (.. in ..) loop, getters, setters).
"use strict";
var myObj = {}; // Create object
// Set property (+descriptor)
Object.defineProperty(myObj, 'myprop', {
value: 5,
writable: false
});
console.log(myObj.myprop);// 5
myObj.myprop = 1; // In strict mode: TypeError: myObj.myprop is read-only
Example
This method extends the Object prototype with a property. Only the getter is defined, and the enumerability is set to false.
Object.defineProperty(Object.prototype, '__CLASS__', {
get: function() {
return Object.prototype.toString.call(this);
},
enumerable: false // = Default
});
Object.keys({}); // []
console.log([].__CLASS__); // "[object Array]"
Features like 'enumerable' are rarely used in my experience.
The major use case is computed properties:
var myObj = {};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
Object.defineProperty(myObj, 'area', {
get: function() {
return this.width*this.height;
}
});
console.log(myObj.area);
A really good reason for using Object.defineProperty is that it lets you loop through a function in an object as a computed property, which executes the function instead of returning the function's body.
For example:
var myObj = {};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
Object.defineProperty(myObj, 'area', {
get: function() {
return this.width*this.height;
},
enumerable: true
});
for (var key in myObj) {
if (myObj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
console.log(key + " -> " + myObj[key]);
}
}
//width -> 20, height -> 20, area -> 400
Versus adding the function as a property to an object literal:
var myObj = {};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
myObj.area = function() {
return this.width*this.height;
};
for (var key in myObj) {
if (myObj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
console.log(key + " -> " + myObj[key]);
}
}
// width -> 20, height -> 20, area -> function() { return this.width*this.height;}
Make sure you set the enumerable property to true in order to loop through it.
For example, that's how Vue.js keeps track of changes in the data object:
When you pass a plain JavaScript object to a Vue instance as its data option, Vue will walk through all of its properties and convert them to getter/setters using Object.defineProperty. This is an ES5-only and un-shimmable feature, which is why Vue doesn’t support IE8 and below.
The getter/setters are invisible to the user, but under the hood they enable Vue to perform dependency-tracking and change-notification when properties are accessed or modified.
[...]
Keep in mind that even a super slim and basic version of Vue.js would use something more than just Object.defineProperty, but the main functionality comes from it:
Here you can see an article where the author implements a minimal PoC version of something like Vue.js: https://medium.com/js-dojo/understand-vue-reactivity-implementation-step-by-step-599c3d51cd6c
And here a talk (in Spanish) where the speaker builds something similar while explaining reactivity in Vue.js: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axXwWU-L7RM
Summary:
In Javascript Objects are collections of key-value pairs.
Object.defineProperty() is a function which can define a new property on an object and can set the following attributes of a property:
value <any>: The value associated with the key
writable <boolean>: if writable is set to true The property can be updated by assigning a new value to it. If set to false you can't change the value.
enumerable <boolean>: if enumerable is set to true Property can be accessed via a for..in loop. Furthermore are the only the enumerable property keys returned with Object.keys()
configurable <boolean>: If configurable is set to false you cannot change change the property attributes (value/writable/enumerable/configurable), also since you cannot change the value you cannot delete it using the delete operator.
Example:
let obj = {};
Object.defineProperty(obj, 'prop1', {
value: 1,
writable: false,
enumerable: false,
configurable: false
}); // create a new property (key=prop1, value=1)
Object.defineProperty(obj, 'prop2', {
value: 2,
writable: true,
enumerable: true,
configurable: true
}); // create a new property (key=prop2, value=2)
console.log(obj.prop1, obj.prop2); // both props exists
for(const props in obj) {
console.log(props);
// only logs prop2 because writable is true in prop2 and false in prop1
}
obj.prop1 = 100;
obj.prop2 = 100;
console.log(obj.prop1, obj.prop2);
// only prop2 is changed because prop2 is writable, prop1 is not
delete obj.prop1;
delete obj.prop2;
console.log(obj.prop1, obj.prop2);
// only prop2 is deleted because prop2 is configurable and prop1 is not
Object.defineProperty prevents you from accidentally assigning values to some key in its prototype chain. With this method you assign only to that particular object level(not to any key in prototype chain).
For example:
There is an object like {key1: value1, key2: value2} and you don't know exactly its prototype chain or by mistake you miss it and there is some property 'color' somewhere in prototype chain then-
using dot(.) assignment-
this operation will assign value to key 'color' in prototype chain(if key exist somewhere) and you will find the object with no change as .
obj.color= 'blue'; // obj remain same as {key1: value1, key2: value2}
using Object.defineProperty method-
Object.defineProperty(obj, 'color', {
value: 'blue'
});
// now obj looks like {key1: value1, key2: value2, color: 'blue'}. it adds property to the same level.Then you can iterate safely with method Object.hasOwnProperty().
One neat use case I have seen for defineProperty is for libraries to provide an error property to the user which, if it's not accessed within a certain interval you would log the error yourself. For example:
let logErrorTimeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
if (error) {
console.error('Unhandled (in <your library>)', error.stack || error);
}
}, 10);
Object.defineProperty(data, 'error', {
configurable: true,
enumerable: true,
get: () => {
clearTimeout(logErrorTimeoutId);
return error;
},
});
Source for this code: https://github.com/apollographql/react-apollo/blob/ddd3d8faabf135dca691d20ce8ab0bc24ccc414e/src/graphql.tsx#L510
A good use is when you need to do some interception or apply a classical Observer/Observable pattern in a elegant way:
https://www.monterail.com/blog/2016/how-to-build-a-reactive-engine-in-javascript-part-1-observable-objects
A very useful case is to monitor changes to something and act on them. It's easy because you can have callback functions fire whenever the value gets set. Here's a basic example.
You have an object Player that can be playing or not playing. You want something to happen right when it starts playing, and right when it stops playing.
function Player(){}
Object.defineProperty(Player.prototype, 'is_playing', {
get(){
return this.stored_is_playing; // note: this.is_playing would result in an endless loop
},
set(newVal){
this.stored_is_playing = newVal;
if (newVal === true) {
showPauseButton();
} else {
showPlayButton();
}
}
});
const cdplayer = new Player();
cdplayer.is_playing = true; // showPauseButton fires
This answer is related to a couple other answers here, which are good stepping points for more information, but with no need to follow external links to read about libraries or programming paradigms.
#Gerard Simpson
If 'area' should be enumerable it can be written without Object.defineProperty, too.
var myObj = {
get area() { return this.width * this.height }
};
myObj.width = 20;
myObj.height = 20;
for (var key in myObj) {
if (myObj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
console.log(key + " -> " + myObj[key]);
}
}
//area -> 400, width -> 20, height -> 20