CoffeeScript class methods and instance methods

Class methods and instance methods

Problem

The method you want to create classes and instances.

Solution

Class method

class Songs
  @_titles: 0    # Although it's directly accessible, the leading _ defines it by convention as private property.

  @get_count: ->
    @_titles

  constructor: (@artist, @title) ->
    @constructor._titles++     # Refers to <Classname>._titles, in this case Songs.titles

Songs.get_count()
# => 0

song = new Songs("Rick Astley", "Never Gonna Give You Up")
Songs.get_count()
# => 1

song.get_count()
# => TypeError: Object <Songs> has no method 'get_count'

The instance method

class Songs
  _titles: 0    # Although it's directly accessible, the leading _ defines it by convention as private property.

  get_count: ->
    @_titles

  constructor: (@artist, @title) ->
    @_titles++

song = new Songs("Rick Astley", "Never Gonna Give You Up")
song.get_count()
# => 1

Songs.get_count()
# => TypeError: Object function Songs(artist, title) ... has no method 'get_count'

Discuss

Coffeescript saves class methods (also known as static methods) in the object itself, rather than in object prototypes (and a single instance of an object), and saves class-level variables at the center while saving records.