fiber

Fiber.js: Lightweight, fast, JavaScript inheritance model

Why another JavaScript inheritance library?

Take a look at the performance tests to see how it compares against commonly used inheritance libraries.

Inheritance

Usage

[[constructor]].extend( function )

Example

// Animal base class
var Animal = Fiber.extend(function() {
    return {
        // The `init` method serves as the constructor.
        init: function() {
            // Private
            function private1(){}
            function private2(){}

            // Privileged
            this.privileged1 = function(){}
            this.privileged2 = function(){}
        },
        // Public
        method1: function(){}
    }
});

The init method acts as the constructor, which is invoked when an instance is created:

var animal = new Animal(); // Create a new Animal instance

init is invoked automatically.

Inheritance

// Extend the Animal class.
var Dog = Animal.extend(function() {
    return {
        // Override base class `method1`
        method1: function(){
            console.log('dog::method1');
        },
        scare: function(){
            console.log('Dog::I scare you');
        }
    }
});

Create an instance of Dog:

var husky = new Dog();
husky.scare(); // "Dog::I scare you'"

Accessing parent prototype

Every class definition has access to the parent's prototype via the first argument passed into the function:

// Extend the Animal class.
var Dog = Animal.extend(function( base ) {
    return {
        // Override base class `method1`
        method1: function(){
            // Call the parent method
            base.method1.call(this);
        },
        scare: function(){
            console.log('Dog::I scare you');
        }
    }
});

Mixin

Mixins are a way to add functionality to a Fiber definition. Basically, they address the problem of "multiple inheritance". Read more.

Usage

Fiber.mixin( object, function1, function2, ... )

var Foo = Fiber.extend(function(base) {
    return {
        method1: function(){}
    }
});

var f = new Foo();
f.method1();

var mix1 = function(base) {
    return  {
        method2: function() {}
    }
}

Fiber.mixin(Foo, mix1);

f.method2();

Decorators

With decorators you can dynamically attach additional properties to an instance. Read more.

Usage

Fiber.decorate( instance, decorator_1, ... , decorator_n )

function CarWithPowerWindows(base) {
    return {
        roll: function() {}
    }
}

Fiber.decorate(myCar, CarWithPowerWindows);

Proxy

Usage

Fiber.proxy( base, instance )

// Extend the Animal class;
var Dog = Animal.extend(function(base) {
    return {
        init: function() {
            this.base = Fiber.proxy(base, this);
            this.base.init();
        }
    }
});

noConflict

Usage

Fiber.noConflict()

Returns a reference to the Fiber object, and sets the Fiber variable to its previous owner.