Subj : Re: SpiderMonkey newbie question
To   : Andy Madigan
From : Brendan Eich
Date : Tue Sep 28 2004 11:23 pm

Andy Madigan wrote:
> I'm trying to figure out how to create JavaScript "classes", in the
> apidoc for JS_InitClass
> (http://www.mozilla.org/js/spidermonkey/apidoc/gen/api-JS_InitClass.html)


That doc lies.  The argument you must mean is named parent_proto, so 
it's the grand-proto of objects of this class, and you can pass NULL if 
Object.prototype is a fine grand-proto.

JS_InitClass *always* makes a new prototype object, of the given class 
(not of Object class).  This parent_proto argument, if non-null, becomes 
the proto of that prototype, if you get what I mean.


> it seems to say that if you don't pass a prototype object, the class
> won't init.


It doesn't say that in the lying docs, and the code does not fail.


> What I need is to be able to create a class where the
> prototype is "new Object".


Why would you want a plain Object rather than an unconstructed instance 
of the class you're initializing?


> Is there a shortcut for this, or should I
> try to evaluate the script "new Object"


To make a new Object, just call JS_NewObject(cx, NULL, NULL, NULL).


> and just get a prototype that
> way. (Note: I know rhino, but SpiderMonkey makes very little sense to
> me, since I'm used to C++, not C).


Not sure how C++ helps here, but the docs are wrong, again -- sorry. 
I'll try to fix them, but I won't get to it soon.  Anyone with CVS 
access can produce a patch (Sterling?) based on js/docs.

/be

.