Building Cells: Getter and Setter Methods

Learning Goals

Builds getter and setter methods to calculate computed properties

Introduction

We've seen so far that we can write methods inside our classes that allow us to access and change properties. These methods work fine in some cases. However, we know about additional JS syntax that we can use: get and set. With get, we can return calculated or dynamic data based an object properties, and with set we can change a property in a controlled way. In this lab, we will be building pseudo-properties to illustrate these these concepts.

Builds Getter and Setter Method to Calculate Computed Properties

Let's look at a quick example for review:

class Bird {
  constructor(name) {
    this.name = name;
  }
  
  set phrase(phrase) {
    this._phrase = phrase;
  }

  get speak() {
    return `${this.name} says ${this._phrase || 'squawk'}`;
  }
}

let daffy = new Bird('Daffy');
daffy.speak; // => 'Daffy says squawk'
daffy.phrase = "it's rabbit season!";
daffy.speak; // => 'Daffy says it's rabbit season!'

Our Bird class accepts the parameter of name, which is set each time a new instance of Bird is created. When phrase is set, our new Bird instance can speak a phrase. If it is not set, it will squawk.

let buddy = Bird.new('Buddy');

buddy.phrase = "What'cha doin'?";
buddy.speak; // returns 'Buddy says What'cha doin'?'

Building on this concept, we're going to build our own shape calculator!

First, let's create a class of Circle
Circle will accept 1 parameter, radius, and use this.radius to store the value
Use Math.PI to get an accurate measurement of pi (π)
Define getter methods for diameter, circumference, and area which will calculate each value using this.radius and pi
Define setter methods for diameter, circumference, and area which will accept values for each calculation, calculate the radius based on the input value and set this.radius accordingly

For reference, here are the formulas for calculating diameter, circumference and area:

Diameter = radius • 2
Circumference = π • diameter
Area = π • radius²

Don't forget about PEMDAS!

All instances of Circle should be able to calculate the diameter, circumference, and area based on the given radius. All instances should also be able to set this.radius by setting a value to diameter, circumference, or area.

Conclusion

Getter and setter methods are very useful for doing things behind-the-scenes in JavaScript. Using a setter, you can call a function each time the value of a pseudo-property is changed, making sure all data on an class instance is consistent. Using a getter, you can return a computed value as though it is a property! Just as you can set and retrieve basic information from properties, you can also perform a number of functions that will "automagically" spit out the output you want.

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