Classes & Objects

In Ignition, a class is a strictly defined architectural contract. It acts as a blueprint that outlines the state (properties) and behavior (functions) of a component. An object is a live instance of that blueprint, isolated and managed by encapsulate and the StackSpider to ensure memory safety and access integrity.

Creating a Class

To create a class, you use the Class.class function. In Ignition, this is typically done within a .definition file to establish the contract before logic is ever written.

The class function requires a Name (string) and a Fields structure (table) containing access specifiers: public, protected, and private.

--!strict
local Ignition = require(game.ReplicatedStorage.Ignition)

local class, property = Ignition.class, Ignition.property

local Person = class "Person" {
    public = {
        Name = "Unknown"
        Age = 0
    }
}

Inferred public properties

You don't have to explicitly write public, just setting properties directly onto the fields structure automatically passes that property internally as a public property. However, do note that the keys private and protected are strictly reserved for the library itself.

class "Person" {
    Name = "Testificate",  -- These two are automatically public properties
    Age = 21,
}

Creating an Object

To manifest a class into a live object, you use the new function. This allocates the object in memory and returns a "proxy" that the library now monitors.

--!strict
local Ignition = require(game.ReplicatedStorage.Ignition)

local new = Ignition.new

local newPerson = new "Person"()
print(newPerson.Age) -- 0

Updating an Object

You can update an object's members by indexing them directly.

local newPerson = new "Person"()
newPerson.Age = 21
print(newPerson.Age) -- 21

Info

Later on at Class Properties, you'll learn more features that Ignition can offer for your class properties!

Strict Member Definition

Ignition follows the Closed-Layout Principle. You cannot "hot-load" new members onto an object after it has been created. All members must be explicitly declared in the class definition.

Architectural Violation

Attempting to define a new member through an object will cause an immediate error. This prevents state pollution where objects hold data that their class is unaware of.