Symbol is a new primitive type available from ECMAScript 2015, which allow to create unique identifiers let uniqueKey = Symbol('SymbolName').
You may use symbols as keys of properties in objects. A list of symbols that JavaScript treats specially is published as well-known symbols.
Well-known symbols are used by built-in JavaScript algorithms. For example Symbol.iterator is utilized to iterate over items in arrays, strings, or even to define your own iterator function.
These special symbols are important because they are system properties of objects that allow to define custom behavior. Sounds great, use them to hook into JavaScript!
Being unique, using symbols as keys (instead of string literals) allow easily to add new functionality to objects. You don't have to worry about keys collision (because every symbol is unique), which can be a problem when using string literals.
This article guides through the list of well-known symbols and explains how to use them comfortable in your code.
Often for simplicity a well-known Symbol.<name> is abbreviated to @@<name> format. For example Symbol.iterator is @@iterator or Symbol.toPrimitive is @@toPrimitive.
It's possible to say that an object has an @@iterator method. It indicates that the object has a property named Symbol.iterator that holds a function:
{ [Symbol.iterator]: function(){...} }.
1. A short introduction to Symbol
Symbol is a primitive type (like numbers, booleans and strings), unique and immutable.
To create a symbol, invoke Symbol function with an optional name argument:
let mySymbol = Symbol();let namedSymbol = Symbol('myName');typeof mySymbol; // => 'symbol'typeof namedSymbol; // => 'symbol'
mySymbol and namedSymbol are symbol primitives. namedSymbol has an associated name 'myName', which is useful for debugging.
It is important that every time Symbol() is invoked, a new and unique symbol is created. Two symbols are unique (or distinct) even if they have the same name:
let first = Symbol();let second = Symbol();first === second; // => falselet firstNamed = Symbol('Lorem');let secondNamed = Symbol('Lorem');firstNamed === secondNamed; // => false
first and second create unique symbols and are different.
firstNamed and secondNamed have the same name 'Lorem', but are still different.
Symbols can be keys for properties in objects. In object literals or classes declaration, it is necessary to use a computed property name syntax [symbol]:
let stringSymbol = Symbol('String');let myObject = { number: 1, [stringSymbol]: 'Hello World'};myObject[stringSymbol]; // => 'Hello World'Object.getOwnPropertyNames(myObject); // => ['number']Object.getOwnPropertySymbols(myObject); // => ['Symbol(String)']
When defining myObject from a literal, a computed syntax is used to set the property key from a symbol [stringSymbol].
Properties defined with symbols are not accessible using Object.keys() or Object.getOwnPropertyNames() functions. To access those, call the special function Object.getOwnPropertySymbols().
Using symbols as keys is an important aspect. Special symbols (or well-known symbols) allow to define custom objects behavior like iteration, object to primitive or string conversion, etc.
Well-known symbols are available as non-enumerable, non-writable and non-configurable properties of Symbol function object. Simply use a property accessor on Symbol function object to get them: Symbol.iterator, Symbol.hasInstance, etc.
You can get the list of well-known symbols this way:
Object.getOwnPropertyNames(Symbol);// => ["hasInstance", "isConcatSpreadable", "iterator", "toPrimitive", // "toStringTag", "unscopables", "match", "replace", "search", // "split", "species", ....];typeof Symbol.iterator; // => 'symbol'
Object.getOwnPropertiesNames(Symbol) returns the owned properties of Symbol function object, including the list of well-known symbols.
The type of Symbol.iterator of course is 'symbol'.
2. @@iterator to make the object iterable
Symbol.iterator is probably the most known symbol. It allows to define how the object should be iterated using for...of statement or consumed by ... spread operator.
Many built-in types like strings, arrays, maps, sets are iterables, i.e. they have an @@iterator method:
let myString = 'Hola';typeof myString[Symbol.iterator]; // => 'function'for (let char of myString) { console.log(char); // logs on each iterator 'H', 'o', 'l', 'a'}[...myString]; // => ['H', 'o', 'l', 'a']
myString of primitive type string has a property Symbol.iterator. The property holds a method used to iterate over string characters.
The object that defines a method named Symbol.iterator conforms to iterable protocol.
The method should return an object that conforms to iterator protocol. The iterator protocol object should have a method next() that returns {value: <iterator_value>, done: <boolean_finished_iterator>}.
Let's see how to define a custom iterator. The following example creates an iterable object myMethods, which allows to go over the owned methods:
function methodsIterator() { let index = 0; let methods = Object.keys(this).filter((key) => { return typeof this[key] === 'function'; }).map(key => this[key]); return { next: () => ({ // Conform to Iterator protocol done : index >= methods.length, value: methods[index++] }) };}let myMethods = { toString: function() { return '[object myMethods]'; }, sumNumbers: function(a, b) { return a + b; }, numbers: [1, 5, 6], [Symbol.iterator]: methodsIterator // Conform to Iterable Protocol};for (let method of myMethods) { console.log(method); // logs methods `toString` and `sumNumbers`}
methodsIterator() is a function that returns an iterator object { next: function() {...} }.
In myMethods object a property is setup with Symbol.iterator as key and methodsIterator as value. This makes myMethods iterable, and now is possible to pass over object's own methods toString() and sumNumbers() in a for...of loop.
Additionally you can get these methods by calling [...myMethods] or Array.from(myMethods).
@@iterator property accepts also a generator function, which makes it even more valuable. The generator function returns a generator object, which conforms to iterator protocol.
Let's create a class Fibonacci with an @@iterator method, which generates a Fibonacci sequence:
class Fibonacci { constructor(n) { this.n = n; } *[Symbol.iterator]() { let a = 0, b = 1, index = 0; while (index < this.n) { index++; let current = a; a = b; b = current + a; yield current; } }}let sequence = new Fibonacci(6);let numbers = [...sequence];numbers; // => [0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5]
*[Symbol.iterator]() {...} declares a class method that is a generator function. The instances of Fibonacci class will conform to iterable protocol.
Then sequence instance is used with the spread operator [...sequence]. The spread operator calls @@iterator method to create an array from the generated numbers. So the result is an array of first 5 Fibonacci numbers.
If the primitive type or object have an @@iterator method, they can be applied in the following constructs:
- Iterate over the elements in
for...ofloop - Create an array of elements using spread operator
[...iterableObject] - Create an array of elements using
Array.from(iterableObject) - In
yield*expression to delegate to another generator - In constructors for
Map(iterableObject),WeakMap(iterableObject),Set(iterableObject),WeakSet(iterableObject) - In promise static methods
Promise.all(iterableObject),Promise.race(iterableObject)
3. @@hasInstance to customize instanceof
By default obj instanceof Constructor operator verifies if the prototype chain of obj contains Constructor.prototype object. Let's see an example:
function Constructor() { // constructor code}let obj = new Constructor();let objProto = Object.getPrototypeOf(obj);objProto === Constructor.prototype; // => trueobj instanceof Constructor; // => trueobj instanceof Object; // => true
obj instanceof Constructor evaluates to true because the prototype of obj equals to Constructor.prototype (as result of constructor invocation).
instanceof verifies also the prototype chain of obj, thus obj instanceof Object is true.
Often an application does not deal with prototypes and requires a more specific instance verification.
Fortunately is possible to define a method @@hasInstance on a callable type Type to customize instanceof evaluation. obj instanceof Type is now equivalent to Type[Symbol.hasInstance](obj).
For example let's verify if an object or primitive is iterable:
class Iterable { static [Symbol.hasInstance](obj) { return typeof obj[Symbol.iterator] === 'function'; }}let array = [1, 5, 5];let string = 'Welcome';let number = 15;array instanceof Iterable; // => truestring instanceof Iterable; // => truenumber instanceof Iterable; // => false
Iterable is a class that contains @@hasInstance static method. This method verifies if the supplied obj parameter is iterable, i.e. contains a Symbol.iterable property.
Later Iterable is used to verify different types of variables. array and string are iterables, number is not.
In my opinion, using @@hasInstance such way with instanceof and constructors is more graceful than simply isIterable(array) calls.
array instanceof Iterable clearly suggests that array is verified that it conforms to iterable protocol.
4. @@toPrimitive to convert an object to a primitive
Use Symbol.toPrimitive to specify a property whose value is a function to transform an object to a primitive.
@@toPrimitive method has one parameter hint that takes "number", "string" or "default" value. hint parameter indicates the suggested type of primitive that should be returned.
As an example, let's improve an array instance with a @@toPrimitive method:
function arrayToPrimitive(hint) { if (hint === 'number') { return this.reduce((sum, num) => sum + num); } else if (hint === 'string') { return `[${this.join(', ')}]`; } else { // hint is default return this.toString(); }}let array = [1, 5, 3];array[Symbol.toPrimitive] = arrayToPrimitive;// array to number. hint is 'number'+ array; // => 9// array to string. hint is 'string'`array is ${array}`; // => 'array is [1, 5, 3]'// array to default. hint is 'default''array elements: ' + array; // => 'array elements: 1,5,3'
arrayToPrimitive(hint) is a function that converts the array to a primitive depending on hint. The assignment array[Symbol.toPrimitive] = arrayToPrimitive makes the array to use the new conversion method.
Executing + array calls @@toPrimitive method with 'number' hint. array is transformed to a number, which is the sum of array elements 9.
array is ${array} calls @@toPrimitive method with a hint 'string'. The array to primitive conversion is '[1, 5, 3]'.
The final 'array elements: ' + array uses 'default' hint for the transformation. In this case array evaluates to '1,5,3'.
@toPrimitive method is used when an object interacts with a primitive type:
- In equality operator
object == primitive - In addition/concatenation operator
object + primitive - In subtraction operator
object - primitive - Different situations when an object is coerced to a primitive:
String(object),Number(object), etc.
5. @@toStringTag to create the default description of an object
Use Symbol.toStringTag to specify a property whose value is a string that describes object's type tag. @@toStringTag method is used by Object.prototype.toString().
The specification of Object.prototype.toString() indicates that many JavaScript types have tags by default:
let toString = Object.prototype.toString;toString.call(undefined); // => '[object Undefined]'toString.call(null); // => '[object Null]'toString.call([1, 4]); // => '[object Array]'toString.call('Hello'); // => '[object String]'toString.call(15); // => '[object Number]'toString.call(true); // => '[object Boolean]'// etc for Function, Arguments, Error, Date, RegExptoString.call({}); // => '[object Object]'
These types do not have a property Symbol.toStringTag, because Object.prototype.toString() algorithm evaluates them separately.
Many other JavaScript types define the @@toStringTag property, like symbols, generator functions, maps, promises, and more. Let's take a look:
let toString = Object.prototype.toString;let noop = function() {};Symbol.iterator[Symbol.toStringTag]; // => 'Symbol'(function* () {})[Symbol.toStringTag]; // => 'GeneratorFunction'new Map()[Symbol.toStringTag]; // => 'Map'new Promise(noop)[Symbol.toStringTag]; // => 'Promise'toString.call(Symbol.iterator); // => '[object Symbol]'toString.call(function* () {}); // => '[object GeneratorFunction]'toString.call(new Map()); // => '[object Map]'toString.call(new Promise(noop)); // => '[object Promise]'
As seen in the above sample, many JavaScript types define their own @@toStringTag properties.
In other cases, when an object is not from default tagged types or does not provide @@toStringTag property, it is tagged simply as 'Object'.
Of course you can define a custom @@toStringTag property:
let toString = Object.prototype.toString;class SimpleClass {}toString.call(new SimpleClass); // => '[object Object]'class MyTypeClass { constructor() { this[Symbol.toStringTag] = 'MyType'; }}toString.class(new TagClass); // => '[object MyType]'
new SimpleClass instance does not have defined @@toStringTag. Object.prototype.toString() returns for it a default '[object Object]'.
In the constructor of MyTypeClass, the instance is configured with a custom tag 'MyType'. For such a class instance Object.prototype.toString() returns the custom type description '[object MyType]'.
Notice that @@toStringTag exists more in terms of backward compatibility. Its usage is not encouraged. You probably should use other ways to determine the object type, e.g. instanceof (including with @@hasInstance symbol) or typeof.
6. @@species to create derived objects
Use Symbol.species to specify a property whose value is a constructor function used to create derived objects.
Many JavaScript constructors have the value of @@species equal to the constructor itself:
Array[Symbol.species] === Array; // => trueMap[Symbol.species] === Map; // => trueRegExp[Symbol.species] === RegExp; // => true
First, note that a derived object is one created after a specific operation on an original object. For example calling .map() method on original array returns a derived object: the mapping result array.
Usually derived objects have the same constructor as the original object, which is expected. But sometimes is necessary to indicate a custom constructor (maybe one from the base class): this is where @@species property can help.
Suppose a scenario when you extend Array constructor to a child class MyArray, in order to add useful methods. When later MyArray class instance is used with .map() method, you will need an instance of Array, but not the child one MyArray.
To do so, define an accessor property @@species and indicate the derived object constructor: Array. Let's try an example:
class MyArray extends Array { isEmpty() { return this.length === 0; } static get [Symbol.species]() { return Array; }}let array = new MyArray(3, 5, 4);array.isEmpty(); // => falselet odds = array.filter(item => item % 2 === 1);odds instanceof Array; // => trueodds instanceof MyArray; // => false
In MyArray a static accessor property is defined static get [Symbol.species]() {}. It indicates that derived objects should have an Array constructor.
Later when filtering the array elements, array.filter() method returns an Array.
If @@species property is not customized, array.filter() returns an MyArray instance.
@@species accessor property is used with Array and TypedArray methods like .map(), .concat(), .slice(), .splice() that return derived objects.
It is useful for extending maps, regular expression objects, promises, and still keep the original constructor.
7. Create regular expression like objects: @@match, @@replace, @@search and @@split
JavaScript's string prototype has 4 methods that accept regular expression objects:
String.prototype.match(regExp)String.prototype.replace(regExp, newSubstr)String.prototype.search(regExp)String.prototype.split(regExp, limit)
ECMAScript 2015 allows these 4 methods to accept types other than RegExp, with the condition to define the corresponding function valued properties @@match, @@replace, @@search and @@split.
Interestingly that RegExp prototype defines these methods using symbols too:
typeof RegExp.prototype[Symbol.match]; // => 'function'typeof RegExp.prototype[Symbol.replace]; // => 'function'typeof RegExp.prototype[Symbol.search]; // => 'function'typeof RegExp.prototype[Symbol.split]; // => 'function'
Now let's create a custom pattern class. The following example defines a simplified class that can be used instead of RegExp:
class Expression { constructor(pattern) { this.pattern = pattern; } [Symbol.match](str) { return str.includes(this.pattern); } [Symbol.replace](str, replace) { return str.split(this.pattern).join(replace); } [Symbol.search](str) { return str.indexOf(this.pattern); } [Symbol.split](str) { return str.split(this.pattern); }}let sunExp = new Expression('sun');'sunny day'.match(sunExp); // => true'rainy day'.match(sunExp); // => false'sunny day'.replace(sunExp, 'rainy'); // => 'rainy day'"It's sunny".search(sunExp); // => 5"daysunnight".split(sunExp); // => ['day', 'night']
Expression class defines the methods @@match, @@replace, @@search and @@split.
sunExp instance later is used in the corresponding string methods, roughly simulating a regular expression.
8. @@isConcatSpreadable to flat an object to array elements
Symbol.isConcatSpreadable is a boolean valued property that indicates if an object should be flattened to its array elements by Array.prototype.concat() method.
By default .concat() method spreads the array to its elements when used for concatenation:
let letters = ['a', 'b'];let otherLetters = ['c', 'd'];otherLetters.concat('e', letters); // => ['c', 'd', 'e', 'a', 'b']
To concatenate two array, letters is applied as an argument to .concat() method. The elements of letters are spread in the concatenation result ['c', 'd', 'e', 'a', 'b'].
To avoid the spread and keep the whole array as an element in the concatenation, set @@isConcatSpreadable to false:
let letters = ['a', 'b'];letters[Symbol.isConcatSpreadable] = false;let otherLetters = ['c', 'd'];otherLetters.concat('e', letters); // => ['c', 'd', 'e', ['a', 'b']]
Assigning false to @@isConcatSpreadable property of letters array keeps it intact in the concatenation result ['c', 'd', 'e', ['a', 'b']].
Contrary to an array, by default .concat() method does not spread the array-like objects (see here why, step 5).
This behavior can be configured also by altering @@isConcatSpreadable property:
let letters = {0: 'a', 1: 'b', length: 2};let otherLetters = ['c', 'd'];otherLetters.concat('e', letters); // => ['c', 'd', 'e', {0: 'a', 1: 'b', length: 2}]letters[Symbol.isConcatSpreadable] = true;otherLetters.concat('e', letters); // => ['c', 'd', 'e', 'a', 'b']
On first .concat() call the array-like object letters remains unmodified in the concatenation result array. This is the default for array-like objects.
Then @@isConcatSpreadable property is set to true for letters. So the concatenation spreads the array-like object to its elements.
9. @@unscopables for properties accessibility within with
Symbol.unscopables is an object valued property whose own property names are property names that are excluded from the with environment bindings of the associated object.
@@unscopables property value has this format: { propertyName: <boolean_exclude_binding> }.
ES2015 defines by default @@unscopables for arrays only. The meaning is to hide the new methods that may override variables with the same name in older JavaScript code:
Array.prototype[Symbol.unscopables]; // => { copyWithin: true, entries: true, fill: true, // find: true, findIndex: true, keys: true }let numbers = [3, 5, 6]; with (numbers) { concat(8); // => [3, 5, 6, 8] entries; // => ReferenceError: entries is not defined}
.concat() method can be accessed in with body, since it is not mentioned in @@unscopables property value.
The method .entries() is listed in the @@unscopables property with true, thus is not available within with.
@@unscopables exists mostly for backward compatibility with older JavaScript code that utilizes with (which usage is deprecated and even not allowed in strict mode).
10. Final thoughts
Well-know symbols are powerful properties that allow to hack into JavaScript internal algorithms. Their uniqueness is good for extensibility: object properties are not polluted.
@@iterable is an useful property to configure how JavaScript iterates object elements. It is used by for...of, Array.from(), spread operator ... and more.
Use @@hasInstance for a straightforward type verification. For me, obj instanceof Iterable looks better than isIterable(obj).
@@toStringTag and @@unscopables well-known symbols exists for backward compatibility with ancient JavaScript code. Their utilization is not recommended.
Feeling inspired? I suggest you to take a few hours and analyze your current JavaScript project. I'm sure you can improve it with well-known symbols!
Feel free to write a comment below about your experience on that!
