Extending build-in classes

Built-in classes like Array, Map and others are extendable also.

For instance, here PowerArray inherits from the native Array:

// add one more method to it (can do more)
class PowerArray extends Array {
  isEmpty() {
    return this.length === 0;
  }
}

let arr = new PowerArray(1, 2, 5, 10, 50);
alert(arr.isEmpty()); // false

let filteredArr = arr.filter(item => item >= 10);
alert(filteredArr); // 10, 50
alert(filteredArr.isEmpty()); // false

Please note a very interesting thing. Built-in methods like filter, map and others -- return new objects of exactly the inherited type. They rely on the constructor property to do so.

In the example above,

arr.constructor === PowerArray

So when arr.filter() is called, it internally creates the new array of results exactly as new PowerArray. That's actually very cool, because we can keep using PowerArray methods further o the result.

Even more, we can customize that behavior.

There's a special static getter Symbol.species, if exists, it returns the constructor to use in such cases.

If we'd like built-in methods like map, filter will return regular arrays, we can return Array in Symbol.species, like here:

class PowerArray extends Array {
  isEmpty() {
    return this.length === 0;
  }

*!*
  // built-in methods will use this as the constructor
  static get [Symbol.species]() {
    return Array;
  }
*/!*
}

let arr = new PowerArray(1, 2, 5, 10, 50);
alert(arr.isEmpty()); // false

// filter creates new array using arr.constructor[Symbol.species] as constructor
let filteredArr = arr.filter(item => item >= 10);

*!*
// filteredArr is not PowerArray, but Array
*/!*
alert(filteredArr.isEmpty()); // Error: filteredArr.isEmpty is not a function

As you can see, now .filter returns Array. So the extended functionality is not passed any further.

No static inheritance in built-ins

Built-in objects have their own static methods, for instance Object.keys, Array.isArray etc.

And we've already been talking about native classes extending each other: Array.[[Prototype]] = Object.

But statics are an exception. Built-in classes don't inherit static properties from each other.

In other words, the prototype of build-in constructor Array does not point to Object. This way Array and Date do not have Array.keys or Date.keys. And that feels natural.

Here's the picture structure for Date and Object:

Note, there's no link between Date and Object. Both Object and Date exist independently. Date.prototype inherits from Object.prototype, but that's all.

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Extending build-in classes

No static inheritance in built-ins

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