public static const in TypeScript

Here's what's this TS snippet compiled into (via TS Playground):

define(["require", "exports"], function(require, exports) {
    var Library = (function () {
        function Library() {
        }
        Library.BOOK_SHELF_NONE = "None";
        Library.BOOK_SHELF_FULL = "Full";
        return Library;
    })();
    exports.Library = Library;
});

As you see, both properties defined as public static are simply attached to the exported function (as its properties); therefore they should be accessible as long as you properly access the function itself.


You can do it using namespaces, like this:

export namespace Library {
    export const BOOK_SHELF_NONE: string = 'NONE';
}

Then you can import it from anywhere else:

import {Library} from './Library';
console.log(Library.BOOK_SHELF_NONE);

If you need a class there as well include it inside the namespace: export class Book {...}


If you did want something that behaved more like a static constant value in modern browsers (in that it can't be changed by other code), you could add a get only accessor to the Library class (this will only work for ES5+ browsers and NodeJS):

export class Library {
    public static get BOOK_SHELF_NONE():string { return "None"; }
    public static get BOOK_SHELF_FULL():string { return "Full"; }   
}

var x = Library.BOOK_SHELF_NONE;
console.log(x);
Library.BOOK_SHELF_NONE = "Not Full";
x = Library.BOOK_SHELF_NONE;
console.log(x);

If you run it, you'll see how the attempt to set the BOOK_SHELF_NONE property to a new value doesn't work.

2.0

In TypeScript 2.0, you can use readonly to achieve very similar results:

export class Library {
    public static readonly BOOK_SHELF_NONE = "None";
    public static readonly BOOK_SHELF_FULL = "Full";
}

The syntax is a bit simpler and more obvious. However, the compiler prevents changes rather than the run time (unlike in the first example, where the change would not be allowed at all as demonstrated).

Tags:

Typescript