Set default values for Class properties in TypeScript

Set default values for Class properties in TypeScript #

You can set default values for class properties directly on the class, e.g. class Employee {id = 0;}. When you instantiate the class with the new operator, you will have access to the default value for the specific property and you have the ability to change it later on.

index.ts

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class Employee {
  id = 0;
  name = 'James Doe';
  country = 'Germany';
  tasks: string[] = [];

  vacation: {
    summer: boolean;
    winter: boolean;
  } = {
    summer: false,
    winter: false,
  };
}

const emp1 = new Employee();

emp1.id = 701;
emp1.name = 'Alice';
emp1.country = 'Austria';
emp1.tasks = ['web dev', 'design'];
emp1.vacation = {
  summer: true,
  winter: false,
};

// 👇️ {id: 701, name: 'Alice', country: 'Austria', ...}
console.log(emp1);

We created an Employee class with default values for various properties.

Notice that when we assigned default values for string and number literals, we didn't have to explicitly specify the type.

TypeScript is able to infer the type of the id, name and country properties based on the default values we provided.

However, if you specify a default value that is an empty array, TypeScript infers its type to be never[], in other words, an array that will always be empty.

You could let TypeScript infer an objects type if you provide default values for all of its properties, but in my experience it's best to explicitly type objects and arrays.

All of the initial values can be changed by creating an instance of the class and changing the properties on the specific instance.

An alternative approach is to provide default values in the constructor method of the class.

index.ts

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class Employee {
  constructor(
    public id = 0,
    public name = 'James Doe',
    public tasks: string[] = [],
  ) {
    this.id = id;
    this.name = name;
    this.tasks = tasks;
  }
}

const emp1 = new Employee(undefined, undefined, ['accounting']);

emp1.id = 100;

// 👇️ {id: 100, name: 'James Doe', tasks: ['accounting']}
console.log(emp1);

We provided default value for the classes' properties directly in the constructor.

You would use this approach if you need to override the defaults when instantiating the class with the new operator.

If you want to omit a specific argument and use its default value, pass it undefined when instantiating the class.

Note that you must explicitly type any of the classes' properties or parameters that you don't set a default value for.

index.ts

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class Employee {
  constructor(
    public id: number,
    public name = 'James Doe',
    public tasks: string[] = [],
  ) {
    this.id = id;
    this.name = name;
    this.tasks = tasks;
  }
}

const emp1 = new Employee(100, undefined, ['accounting']);

The id parameter does not have a default value set, so we must explicitly type it as number.

When using this approach with classes that take an object as a parameter, the syntax is a bit more confusing.

index.ts

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class Employee {
  id: number;
  name: string;
  tasks: string[];
  vacation: {
    summer: boolean;
    winter: boolean;
  };

  constructor(
    { id, name, tasks, vacation } = {
      id: 0,
      name: 'James Doe',
      tasks: [],
      vacation: { summer: false, winter: false },
    },
  ) {
    this.id = id;
    this.name = name;
    this.tasks = tasks;
    this.vacation = vacation;
  }
}

const emp1 = new Employee();

// 👇️ Employee {id: 0, name: 'James Doe', tasks: []}
console.log(emp1);

emp1.id = 100;
emp1.name = 'Alice';
emp1.tasks = ['web dev', 'design'];
emp1.vacation.summer = true;

// 👇️ {id: 100, name: 'Alice', tasks: ['web dev', 'design'], ...}
console.log(emp1);

When you have an object parameter in a class constructor, things become a bit harder to read.

This is why I prefer sticking to multiple, comma-separated parameters. We don't have to remember the parameter order when instantiating the class because any modern IDE shows us which parameter we are on, and which we need to provide next.

Set default values for Class properties in TypeScript

Set default values for Class properties in TypeScript #

Borislav Hadzhiev