javascriptpropertiesoverridinggetter-setterdefineproperty

How to "override" a defined (get-)property on a prototype?

I have some code which defines a getter (but no setter, if such is relevant) on a prototype. The value returned is correct in 99.99% of the cases; however, the goal is to set the property to evaluate to a different value for a specific object.

foo = {}
Object.defineProperty(foo, "bar", {
    // only returns odd die sides
    get: function () { return (Math.random() * 6) | 1; }
});

x = Object.create(foo);
x.bar       // => eg. 5
x.bar = 4   // by fair dice roll
x.bar       // nope => eg. 3

How can the property be overridden for x, an existing object, such that it is assignable (eg. has default property behavior)?

Addendum: While a new property (value or get/set) can defined on x, I am looking for if there is a way to stop the behavior of a property in the [prototype] and turn "bar" back into a normal/ad-hoc property for the specific instance.

Solution

  • By using Object.defineProperty on x:

    var foo = {}
Object.defineProperty(foo, "bar", {
    // only returns odd die sides
    get: function () { return (Math.random() * 6) | 1; }
});

var x = Object.create(foo);
display(x.bar);      // E.g. 5

(function() {
  var bar;
  var proto = Object.getPrototypeOf(x); // Or just use foo

  Object.defineProperty(x, "bar", {
    get: function () { return typeof bar !== "undefined" ? bar : proto.bar; },
    set: function(value) { bar = value; }
  });
})();

display(x.bar);  // Still odd
x.bar = 4;       // By fair dice roll
display(x.bar);  // Shows 4

function display(msg) {
  document.body.insertAdjacentHTML("beforeend", "<p>" + msg + "</p>");
}

    I am looking for if there is a way to stop the behavior of a property in the [prototype] and turn "bar" back into a normal/ad-hoc property.

    Okay, that's slightly different, but still uses Object.defineProperty:

    var foo = {}
Object.defineProperty(foo, "bar", {
    // only returns odd die sides
    get: function () { return (Math.random() * 6) | 1; }
});

var x = Object.create(foo);
display(x.bar);      // E.g. 5

Object.defineProperty(x, "bar", {
  value: undefined,
  writable: true,
  enumerable: true // Or leave off if you want it non-enumerable
});

display(x.bar);  // undefined
x.bar = 4;       // By fair dice roll
display(x.bar);  // Shows 4

function display(msg) {
  document.body.insertAdjacentHTML("beforeend", "<p>" + msg + "</p>");
}