The syntax of the defineProperty() method is:
Object.defineProperty(obj, prop, descriptor)
The defineProperty() method, being a static method, is called using the Object class name.
defineProperty() Parameters
The defineProperty() method takes in:
- obj - The object on which to define the property.
- prop - The name or
Symbolof the property to be defined or modified. - descriptor - The descriptor for the property being defined or modified.
Property descriptors present in objects are of two types: data descriptors and accessor descriptors. They can have the following optional properties.
configurableenumerable
A data descriptors can also have:
valuewritable
An accessor descriptors can also have:
getset
Return value from defineProperty()
- Returns the object that was passed to the function.
Note:
- By default, values added using
Object.defineProperty()are immutable and not enumerable. - If a descriptor has neither of
value,writable,getandsetkeys, it is treated as a data descriptor. If a descriptor has bothvalueorwritableandgetorsetkeys, an exception is thrown.
Example: Adding a data property to object
let obj = {};
// with a data property descriptor
Object.defineProperty(obj, "property1", {
value: 788,
writable: true,
enumerable: true,
configurable: true,
});
console.log(obj.property1); // 788
// with an accessor property descriptor
Object.defineProperty(obj, "property2", {
get() {
console.log("Getting Value...");
return val;
},
set(newVal) {
console.log("Setting Value...");
val = newVal;
},
enumerable: true,
configurable: true,
});
obj.property2 = 6969; // Setting Value...
console.log(obj.property2); // 6969
Output
788 Setting Value... Getting Value... 6969
We cannot mix both data and accessor property descriptors as it would throw an error.
To modify a property, the object's writable property has to be true, else it won't modify and throw error in strict mode.
The enumerable property attribute defines whether the property is picked by Object.assign() or spread operator.
The configurable attribute controls at the same time whether the property can be deleted from the object and whether its attributes (other than value and writable) can be changed.
Recommended Reading: Javascript Object defineProperties()