Classes

Description of classes in Drizzle
Classes
Classes in Drizzle are denoted by the class keyword. Inheritance uses the < operator.
class Dog < Animal {}
The constructor in Drizzle is an instance function called init.
class Person {
    name: str
    age: int
​
    def init(name: str, age: int = 0) {
        self.name = name
        self.age = age
    }
}
​
let p1 = Person('Drizzle')
let p2 = Person('Drizzle', 5)
By default, an empty constructor is defined that takes no parameters and does nothing other than creates the instance for the user.
Instance Variables and Methods
Instance variables and methods are created simply by declaring them within the scope of the class itself
class Dog < Animal {
    noise: str = 'Bark!'
    def make_noise() -> str {
        return self.noise
    }
}
​
const d: Dog = Dog()
println(d.make_noise())  # Bark!
self is used to explicitly access instance variables or methods, and is automatically defined within the scope of the class for non-static methods.
Class Variables and Methods
The static keyword is used to denote class variables or methods
class Dog < Animal {
    static noise: str = 'Bark!'
    static def make_noise() -> str {
        return self.noise
    }
}
​
println(Dog.make_noise())  # Bark!
# Can still access from an instance too
const d: Dog = Dog()
println(d.make_noise())  # Bark!
The self keyword can be used to access both class and instance methods and variables.
Abstract Classes and Methods
The abstract keyword can be used as a modifier on both class and def keywords to create abstract classes and functions.
Abstract classes are classes that can not be instantiated by themselves, and abstract methods are methods that do not have a definition.
When an abstract class is inherited by a concrete class, all abstract methods need to be defined or the code will not run.
abstract class Animal {
    abstract def make_noise() -> str
​
    # Abstract classes can also contain concrete definitions
    def animal?() -> bool = return true
}
​
let a: Animal = Animal()  # Causes an error as abstract classes cannot be instantiated
​
class Dog < Animal {}  # Causes an error as not all abstract functions are defined
​
class Cat < Animal {
    def make_noise() = return 'Meow!'
}  # Valid definition as it fully defines all abstract methods
​
let b: Animal = Cat()  # Valid as `Cat` is a concrete class that is a subclass of Animal
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Last updated 1 year ago