How can I declare a class
type, so that I ensure the object is a constructor of a general class?
In the following example, I want to know which type should I give to AnimalClass
so that it could either be Penguin
or Lion
:
class Animal {
constructor() {
console.log("Animal");
}
}
class Penguin extends Animal {
constructor() {
super();
console.log("Penguin");
}
}
class Lion extends Animal {
constructor() {
super();
console.log("Lion");
}
}
class Zoo {
AnimalClass: class // AnimalClass could be 'Lion' or 'Penguin'
constructor(AnimalClass: class) {
this.AnimalClass = AnimalClass
let Hector = new AnimalClass();
}
}
Of course, the class
type does not work, and it would be too general anyway.
Solution from typescript interfaces reference:
interface ClockConstructor {
new (hour: number, minute: number): ClockInterface;
}
interface ClockInterface {
tick();
}
function createClock(ctor: ClockConstructor, hour: number, minute: number): ClockInterface {
return new ctor(hour, minute);
}
class DigitalClock implements ClockInterface {
constructor(h: number, m: number) { }
tick() {
console.log("beep beep");
}
}
class AnalogClock implements ClockInterface {
constructor(h: number, m: number) { }
tick() {
console.log("tick tock");
}
}
let digital = createClock(DigitalClock, 12, 17);
let analog = createClock(AnalogClock, 7, 32);
So the previous example becomes:
interface AnimalConstructor {
new (): Animal;
}
class Animal {
constructor() {
console.log("Animal");
}
}
class Penguin extends Animal {
constructor() {
super();
console.log("Penguin");
}
}
class Lion extends Animal {
constructor() {
super();
console.log("Lion");
}
}
class Zoo {
AnimalClass: AnimalConstructor // AnimalClass can be 'Lion' or 'Penguin'
constructor(AnimalClass: AnimalConstructor) {
this.AnimalClass = AnimalClass
let Hector = new AnimalClass();
}
}
Like that:
class Zoo {
AnimalClass: typeof Animal;
constructor(AnimalClass: typeof Animal ) {
this.AnimalClass = AnimalClass
let Hector = new AnimalClass();
}
}
Or just:
class Zoo {
constructor(public AnimalClass: typeof Animal ) {
}
}
typeof Class
is the type of the class constructor. It's preferable to the custom constructor type declaration because it processes static class members properly.