Iterator() constructor
Limited availability
This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.
The Iterator()
constructor is intended to be used as the superclass of other classes that create iterators. It throws an error when constructed by itself.
Syntax
Parameters
None.
Return value
A new Iterator
object.
Exceptions
TypeError
-
When
new.target
is theIterator
function itself, i.e. when theIterator
constructor itself is constructed.
Description
Iterator
represents an abstract class — a class that provides common utilities for its subclasses, but is not intended to be instantiated itself. It is the superclass of all other iterator classes, and is used to create subclasses that implement specific iteration algorithms — namely, all subclasses of Iterator
must implement a next()
method as required by the iterator protocol. Because Iterator
doesn't actually provide the next()
method, it doesn't make sense to construct an Iterator
directly.
You can also use Iterator.from()
to create an Iterator
instance from an existing iterable or iterator object.
Examples
Subclassing Iterator
The following example defines a custom data structure, Range
, which allows iteration. The simplest way to make an object iterable is to provide an [Symbol.iterator]()
method in the form of a generator function:
class Range {
#start;
#end;
#step;
constructor(start, end, step = 1) {
this.#start = start;
this.#end = end;
this.#step = step;
}
*[Symbol.iterator]() {
for (let value = this.#start; value <= this.#end; value += this.#step) {
yield value;
}
}
}
const range = new Range(1, 5);
for (const num of range) {
console.log(num);
}
This works, but it isn't as nice as how built-in iterators work. There are two problems:
- The returned iterator inherits from
Generator
, which means modifications toGenerator.prototype
are going to affect the returned iterator, which is a leak of abstraction. - The returned iterator does not inherit from a custom prototype, which makes it harder if we intend to add extra methods to the iterator.
We can mimic the implementation of built-in iterators, such as map iterators, by subclassing Iterator
. This enables us to define extra properties, such as [Symbol.toStringTag]
, while making the iterator helper methods available on the returned iterator.
class Range {
#start;
#end;
#step;
constructor(start, end, step = 1) {
this.#start = start;
this.#end = end;
this.#step = step;
}
static #RangeIterator = class extends Iterator {
#cur;
#s;
#e;
constructor(range) {
super();
this.#cur = range.#start;
this.#s = range.#step;
this.#e = range.#end;
}
static {
Object.defineProperty(this.prototype, Symbol.toStringTag, {
value: "Range Iterator",
configurable: true,
enumerable: false,
writable: false,
});
// Avoid #RangeIterator from being accessible outside
delete this.prototype.constructor;
}
next() {
if (this.#cur > this.#e) {
return { value: undefined, done: true };
}
const res = { value: this.#cur, done: false };
this.#cur += this.#s;
return res;
}
};
[Symbol.iterator]() {
return new Range.#RangeIterator(this);
}
}
const range = new Range(1, 5);
for (const num of range) {
console.log(num);
}
The subclassing pattern is useful if you want to create many custom iterators. If you have an existing iterable or iterator object which doesn't inherit from Iterator
, and you just want to call iterator helper methods on it, you can use Iterator.from()
to create a one-time Iterator
instance.
Specifications
Specification |
---|
Iterator Helpers # sec-iterator-constructor |
Browser compatibility
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