microsoft / microsoft/TypeScript

Mixin classes with private/protected constructors are subclassable

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Bug Domain: classes
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Description

Bug Report

🔎 Search Terms

mixin, private constructor

🕗 Version & Regression Information

This is the behavior in every version I tried, and I reviewed the FAQ for entries about Classes.
Versions tried:

  • 3.7.4
  • 4.1.3
  • Nightly
⏯ Playground Link

Playground link with relevant code

💻 Code
function PreventSubclassingMixin<TBase extends new(...args: any[]) => any>(Base: TBase) {
  return class NonSubclassable extends Base {
    private constructor(...args: any[]) {
      super();
    }
  }
}

class Base {
  constructor() {}
}

class NonSubclassableThroughExtension extends Base {
  private constructor() {
    super();
  }
}

const NonSubclassableThroughMixin = PreventSubclassingMixin(Base);

new NonSubclassableThroughExtension(); // Constructor of class 'NonSubclassableThroughExtension' is private and only accessible within the class declaration.(2673)
new NonSubclassableThroughMixin(); // Doesn't throw an error
🙁 Actual behavior

NonSubclassableThroughExtension correctly throw an error — I've extended a superclass Base, which has a publicly accessible constructor, and provided a private constructor in the derived class. I can't access the derived class' constructor anymore:

new NonSubclassableThroughExtension(); // Constructor of class 'NonSubclassableThroughExtension' is private and only accessible within the class declaration.(2673)

The PreventSubclassingMixin supposedly works the same — it creates a class expression that extends the Base class with a public constructor and defines a private constructor, and returns it. The returned derived mixin class is supposedly identical to the example above. However, if I apply the mixin to the Base: const NonSubclassableThroughMixin = PreventSubclassingMixin(Base), and try to initialize it, Typescript won't throw any error.

🙂 Expected behavior

new NonSubclassableThroughMixin() should throw a Constructor of class 'NonSubclassableThroughExtension' is private and only accessible within the class declaration.(2673).

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the linked TypeScript Playground and reproduce the two constructor-access checks in the supplied mixin and direct-extension examples. Trace constructor accessibility for the class expression returned by the mixin, then add or update a regression test so new NonSubclassableThroughMixin() receives the same private-constructor diagnostic as the direct subclass.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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