CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascript
Petar
Petar

Reputation: 33

Are symbols acting like objects in JavaScript?

Are symbols acting like objects in JavaScript or a Symbol object is being created under the hood in the following example:

const symbol = Symbol();

Symbol.prototype.sayHello = function () {
  console.log("sayHello");
};

symbol.sayHello(); //"sayHello"

I know that in JavaScript the function Symbol cannot be invoked with the keyword "new". But can it be done behind the scenes? I already know that when we use methods on primitive values like this:

console.log("333".startsWith("33")); //true

A String object is being created and the method String.prototype.startsWith is being invoked. After that, the object is being garbage-collected. But is it the same case when we work with symbols? Even though we cannot explicitly invoke the function Symbol as a constructor function?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 100

Answers (1)

Bergi
Bergi

Reputation: 664444

Yes, symbols are primitive values, and invoking methods on them works just like for strings or numbers - a wrapper object gets implicitly created that inherits from Symbol.prototype.

You cannot create such a wrapper object using new Symbol, but you still can create it by calling

const symbol = Symbol();
const wrapper = Object(symbol);

Upvotes: 2

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