middleclass/UPDATING.md

Updating from 3.x to 4.x

In middleclass 4.0 there is no global Object class any more. Classes created with class(<name>) don't have a superclass any more. If you need a global Object class, you must create it explicitly and then use it when creating new classes:

local Object = class('Object')

...

local MyClass = class('MyClass', Object)

If you are using a library which depends on the internal implementation of middleclass (for example, stateful.lua they might not work with middleclass 4.0. You might need to update those other libraries.

Middleclass 4.0 comes with support for __index metamethod support. If your library manipulated the classes' __instanceDict internal attribute, you might do the same thing now using __index instead.

Also note that the class method :implements has been removed.

Updating from 2.x to 3.x

Middleclass used to expose several global variables on the main scope. It does not do that anymore.

class is now returned by require 'middleclass', and it is not set globally. So you can do this:

local class = require 'middleclass'
local MyClass = class('MyClass') -- works as before

Object is not a global variable any more. But you can get it from class.Object

local class = require 'middleclass'
local Object = class.Object

print(Object) -- prints 'class Object'

The public functions instanceOf, subclassOf and includes have been replaced by Object.isInstanceOf, Object.static.isSubclassOf and Object.static.includes.

Prior to 3.x:

instanceOf(MyClass, obj)
subclassOf(Object, aClass)
includes(aMixin, aClass)

Since 3.x:

obj:isInstanceOf(MyClass)
aClass:isSubclassOf(Object)
aClass:includes(aMixin)

The 3.x code snippet will throw an error if obj is not an object, or if aClass is not a class (since they will not implement isInstanceOf, isSubclassOf or includes). If you are unsure of whether obj and aClass are an object or a class, you can use the methods in Object. They are prepared to work with random types, not just classes and instances:

Object.isInstanceOf(obj, MyClass)
Object.isSubclassOf(aClass, Object)
Object.includes(aClass, aMixin)

Notice that the parameter order is not the same now as it was in 2.x. Also note the change in naming: isInstanceOf instead of instanceOf, and isSubclassOf instead of subclassOf.