Intro to Classes

Intro
New to ES6 is a type of function called classes. Each class has the ability to generate new versions of itself called instances. Each class instance can contain unique data. Let's take a closer look at classes and how to write them.

Syntax
Writing a class is similar to writing a normal function, expect we use the keyword class in place of the keyword function:

class Car {}

To create an instance of a class we use the constructor method:

class Car{
  constructor(brand,year){
    this.brand = brand;
    this.year = year;
  }
}

Using the new syntax we can create an instance of the Car class:

class Car{
  constructor(brand,year){
    this.brand = brand;
    this.year = year;
  }
}

let myCar = new Car("Ford", 1997) 
// Car { brand: 'Ford', year: 1997 }

If you need to access instance properties you can use dot notation or brackets:

class Car{
  constructor(brand,year){
    this.brand = brand;
    this.year = year;
  }
}

let myCar = new Car("Ford", 1997) 
// Car { brand: 'Ford', year: 1997 }

myCar.brand 
// 'Ford'
myCar.year 
// 1997

myCar["year"] 
// 1997

You can even access properties outside the instance in a class method:

class Car{
  constructor(brand,year){
    this.brand = brand;
    this.year = year;
  }

  myBrand(){
    return `My car personal car is a ${this.brand}`
  }
}

let myCar = new Car("Honda",2009)

myCar.myBrand() 
//'My car personal car is a Honda'

Hoisting
Unlike regular functions classes are not hoisted. You must declare a class before using it.

//You cannot use the class yet.
// let mycar = new Car("Ford",2020)
//This would raise an error.

class Car {
  constructor(brand,year) {
    this.carname = brand;
  }
}

//Now you can use the class:
let mycar = new Car("Ford",2020)

Conclusion
Now that you have the basics of classes and instances down. Practice writing some on your own. Just remember they will not be hoisted.