Use of .apply() with 'new' operator. Is this possible?

Question

In JavaScript, I want to create an object instance (via the new operator), but pass an arbitrary number of arguments to the constructor. Is this possible?

Answer 1

since ES6 this is possible through the Spread operator, see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Spread_operator#Apply_for_new

This answer was already, sort of given in comment https://stackoverflow.com/a/42027742/7049810, but seems to have been missed by most

Answer 2

This constructor approach works both with and without the new keyword:

function Something(foo, bar){
  if (!(this instanceof Something)){
    var obj = Object.create(Something.prototype);
    return Something.apply(obj, arguments);
  }
  this.foo = foo;
  this.bar = bar;
  return this;
}

It assumes support for Object.create but you could always polyfill that if you're supporting older browsers. See the support table on MDN here.

Here's a JSBin to see it in action with console output.

Answer 3

I just came across this problem, and I solved it like this:

function instantiate(ctor) {
    switch (arguments.length) {
        case 1: return new ctor();
        case 2: return new ctor(arguments[1]);
        case 3: return new ctor(arguments[1], arguments[2]);
        case 4: return new ctor(arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
        //...
        default: throw new Error('instantiate: too many parameters');
    }
}

function Thing(a, b, c) {
    console.log(a);
    console.log(b);
    console.log(c);
}

var thing = instantiate(Thing, 'abc', 123, {x:5});

Yeah, it's a bit ugly, but it solves the problem, and it's dead simple.

Answer 4

Make an anonymous prototype and apply the Something prototype to it using the arguments and then create a new instance of that anonymous prototype. The one disadavantage of this is it will not pass the s instanceof Something check, though it is identical, it is basically an instance of a clone.

function Something(){
    // init stuff
}
function createSomething(){
    return new (function(){Something.apply(this, arguments)});
}
var s = createSomething(a,b,c); // 's' is an instance of Something

Answer 5

This answer is a little late, but figured anyone who sees this might be able to use it. There is a way to return a new object using apply. Though it requires one little change to your object declaration.

function testNew() {
    if (!( this instanceof arguments.callee ))
        return arguments.callee.apply( new arguments.callee(), arguments );
    this.arg = Array.prototype.slice.call( arguments );
    return this;
}

testNew.prototype.addThem = function() {
    var newVal = 0,
        i = 0;
    for ( ; i < this.arg.length; i++ ) {
        newVal += this.arg[i];
    }
    return newVal;
}

testNew( 4, 8 ) === { arg : [ 4, 8 ] };
testNew( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ).addThem() === 15;

For the first if statement to work in testNew you have to return this; at the bottom of the function. So as an example with your code:

function Something() {
    // init stuff
    return this;
}
function createSomething() {
    return Something.apply( new Something(), arguments );
}
var s = createSomething( a, b, c );

Update: I've changed my first example to sum any number of arguments, instead of just two.

Answer 6

Here is my version of createSomething:

function createSomething() {
    var obj = {};
    obj = Something.apply(obj, arguments) || obj;
    obj.__proto__ = Something.prototype; //Object.setPrototypeOf(obj, Something.prototype); 
    return o;
}

Based on that, I tried to simulate the new keyword of JavaScript:

//JavaScript 'new' keyword simulation
function new2() {
    var obj = {}, args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments), fn = args.shift();
    obj = fn.apply(obj, args) || obj;
    Object.setPrototypeOf(obj, fn.prototype); //or: obj.__proto__ = fn.prototype;
    return obj;
}

I tested it and it seems that it works perfectly fine for all scenarios. It also works on native constructors like Date. Here are some tests:

//test
new2(Something);
new2(Something, 1, 2);

new2(Date);         //"Tue May 13 2014 01:01:09 GMT-0700" == new Date()
new2(Array);        //[]                                  == new Array()
new2(Array, 3);     //[undefined × 3]                     == new Array(3)
new2(Object);       //Object {}                           == new Object()
new2(Object, 2);    //Number {}                           == new Object(2)
new2(Object, "s");  //String {0: "s", length: 1}          == new Object("s")
new2(Object, true); //Boolean {}                          == new Object(true)