Constructors for derived classes must contain a super call

Constructors for derived classes must contain a super call #

The error "Constructors for derived classes must contain a super call" occurs when a parent class is extended without calling the super() method in the constructor of the child. To solve the error, call the super() method in the constructor of the child class.

Here is an example of how the error occurs.

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class Parent {
  name = 'Parent';

  constructor(public a: number, public b: number) {
    this.a = a;
    this.b = b;
  }
}

class Child extends Parent {
  name = 'Child';

  // ⛔️ Error: Constructors for derived
  // classes must contain a 'super' call.ts(2377)
  constructor(public a: number) {
    this.a = a;
  }
}

We can't access the this keyword in the constructor of the child class without calling the super() method first.

To solve the error, call super() in the child class's constructor.

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class Parent {
  name = 'Parent';

  constructor(public a: number, public b: number) {
    this.a = a;
    this.b = b;
  }
}

class Child extends Parent {
  name = 'Child';

  constructor(public a: number) {
    super(a, a); // 👈️ call super() here

    this.a = a;
  }
}

The super() method should be called before accessing the this keyword in the child's constructor.

In the example above, the constructor of the parent class takes 2 parameters of type number.

You have to provide all of the parameters the parent class requires, because when you call the super() method, you're actually calling the constructor of the parent class.

You can imagine that the super keyword is a reference to the parent class.

You might also see the super keyword used when a child has to refer to a method of a parent class.

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class Parent {
  name = 'Parent';

  constructor(public a: number, public b: number) {
    this.a = a;
    this.b = b;
  }

  doMath(): number {
    return this.a + this.b;
  }
}

class Child extends Parent {
  name = 'Child';

  constructor(public a: number) {
    super(a, a);

    this.a = a;
  }

  doMath(): number {
    // 👇️ super.doMath() calls doMath method of parent
    return this.a * this.a + super.doMath();
  }
}

const child1 = new Child(3);

// 👇️ (3 * 3) + (3 + 3) = 15
console.log(child1.doMath()); // 👉️ 15

These are the 2 most common uses of the super keyword in classes:

• invoke the parent's constructor, so you can use the this keyword
• refer to methods of the parent class when overriding them

Conclusion #

The error "Constructors for derived classes must contain a super call" occurs when a parent class is extended without calling the super() method in the constructor of the child. To solve the error, call the super() method in the constructor of the child class.