Since ActionScript 2.0 does not have the “abstract” modifier, here’s one way to create a class that acts like an abstract class, by making the constructor private:
class PretendToBeAbstractClass {
// private constructor
private function PretendToBeAbstractClass() {}
}When the following statement is compiled, the compiler will complain that one can’t instantiate from this class because the constructor is private:
var o:PretendToBeAbstractClass = new PretendToBeAbstractClass();
Although the constructor is private, but because it behaves as protected, you can still extend this class:
class MyClass extends PretendToBeAbstractClass {
}
What is missing is the compiler does not actually know what an abstract class is; therefore there won’t be any warning messages.
As I mentioned in the last post, you can get around all the type-checking at runtime, and even instantiating an “abstract†class at runtime like this:
var o = new _global["PretendToBeAbstractClass"]();
Or even access “private†properties from it:
trace(o.somePrivateVar);
Obviously these actions defeat the purpose of strict-typing, but it is possible (until runtime type-checking is implemented).
5 replies on “abstract class”
Hi Dave, by privating the class constructor you get the class to be not instanciable, true.
Although that’s a possible result of using Abstract Classes, what really defines a class as an Abstract Class is the use you made of it but not the instanciation-ban itself. An Abstract Class is intended to be a class which contents Abstracts Methods, as an abstraction of it subclasses.
Nevertheless, in spite of Abstract classes are superclasses are *not supposed* to be instanciated, I’ll wait for an abstract modifier instead of privating the class constructor.
well… i’m still in a deep fog with those clases
Hi Dave, i created (for my framework) an emulation of the abstract concept in AS 2.0
I use a class associated to an interface.
Abstract methods are class attributes to authorize polymorphism.
You can check it here : http://www.tweenpix.net/archives/000316.html
Full Featured Abstract Class
This comment explains how to create an as 2.0 class which must be derived and contains some implementation while enforcing specific and complete implementation by all deriving classes.
Remembering that interfaces are types, we may attain the full functionality of an abstract class.
Step One:
Create an interface that contains all the methods that would normally be abstract methods.
interface IAbstract
{
function myAbstractMethod();
}
Step Two:
Create the base class that will work as your abstract class. (The base class must cast a reference to itself as the interface type implemented by extending classes. See bellow.)
class Abstract
{
private var sub:IAbstract;
// Private constructor disallows instantiation
private function Abstract()
{
// Cast a reference of the extending class instance to the interface type
// which contains the abstract methods.
sub = IAbstract(this);
//Flash Player 7 Only
if(sub == null) // invalid cast will return null in Flash player 7
{
throw(“Classes extending MenuBase must implement IMenu”);
}
// end Flash Player 7 Only
/* For Flash Player 6 (or 7) use this runtime type check
if(!(sub instanceof IMenu))
{
sub = null;
trace(“Classes extending MenuBase must implement IMenu”);
}
*/
//Because sub is of type IAbstract no compiler error is thrown
sub.myAbstractMethod();
}
}
Here is the foundation of this example. We store a reference to the current instance of the class extending Abstract in the variable sub.
sub = IAbstract(this);
This allows us to invoke the abstract method myAbstractMethod without a compiler error. If the extending class does not extend the interface, the cast returns null and we throw an exception. This forces the extending class to implement the interface IAbstract. The result is an uninstantiable class which contains some implementation and enforce specific and complete implementation by all deriving classes.
Step Three:
The extending class must simple extend the Abstract and implement IAbstract
class Extending extends Abstract implements IAbstract
{
// methods and properties here.
}
Sorry, in the flash players 6 runtime type check IMenu should be IAbstract.