Rejecting array inputs with JS Proxy
<p>I want to create an array that only accepts a certain instance type to be stored. It seems the best solution was to use <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Proxy/handler" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Proxies</a>, inspired by this <a href="https://gist.github.com/kgryte/713ab40f36c128bc1d52" rel="nofollow noreferrer">gist</a> and <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5100376/how-to-watch-for-array-changes/5100420#5100420">SO thread</a>.</p>

<p>So I have a proxy working and for basic array functionality it's working as expected. The <code>set</code> property makes sure that only objects which are an instance of <em>Fruit</em> can be inserted into the Array, or else a TypeError is thrown. the only other property that can be set right now is the <code>length</code>.</p>

<p>The problem is with advanced i/o such as <code>splice()</code>. Logging the <code>set</code> function shows that the array items get shifted to make space for the new item to be inserted at [0], but when the new item is rejected, it leaves the array in a mess.</p>

<p>As <code>set</code> is called iteratively, I don't see a clear-cut way of preventing the splice from initiating, or restoring the array to it's former glory (preferably the former option) within the proxy. Does anyone else know how to implement either of these ideas, or have another suggestion?</p>

<p><div class="snippet" data-lang="js" data-hide="false" data-console="true" data-babel="true">
<div class="snippet-code">
<pre class="snippet-code-js lang-js prettyprint-override"><code>"use strict";

class Fruit {
  constructor(name) {
    this._name = name;
  }

  set name(name) {
    this._name = name;
  }

  get name() {
    return this._name;
  }
}

class Vegetable {
  constructor(name) {
    this.name(name);
  }

  set name(name) {
    this._name = name;
  }

  get name() {
    return this._name;
  }
}

// a proxy for our array
var fruitbowl = new Proxy([], {
  apply: function(target, thisArg, argumentsList) {
    return thisArg[target].apply(this, argumentList);
  },
  deleteProperty: function(target, property) {
    console.log("Deleted %s", property);
    return true;
  },
  set: function(target, property, value, receiver) {
    // UNCOMMENT HERE for useful output:
    // console.log("Setting " + property + " to ", value);
    if (property == "length") {
      target.length = value;
      return true;
    } else {
      if (value instanceof Fruit) {
        target[property] = value;
        return true;
      } else {
        return false;
        // throw TypeError("Expected Fruit, got " + typeof(value) + " (" + value + ")");
      }
    }
  }
});

console.log("\n\n=== Putting fruit into the bowl... ===\n\n");

try {
  fruitbowl.push(new Vegetable("potato"));
} catch (e) {
  console.log("Shoudln't allow vegetables: PASSED");
}

fruitbowl.push(new Fruit("apple"));
console.log("Should allow fruit: " + (fruitbowl.length == 1 ? "PASSED" : "FAILED"));

fruitbowl[0] = new Fruit("orange");
console.log("Should replace item specified as long as it's a Fruit: " + (fruitbowl.length == 1 &amp;&amp; fruitbowl[0].name == "orange" ? "PASSED" : "FAILED"));

try {
  fruitbowl[0] = "Bananas!!1one";
} catch (e) {

}
console.log("Should not replace with a string: " + (fruitbowl.length == 1 &amp;&amp; fruitbowl[0].name == "orange" ? "PASSED" : "FAILED"));

fruitbowl.push(new Fruit("banana"), new Fruit("pear"));
console.log("Should have 3 items [orange, banana, pear]: " + (fruitbowl.length == 3 ? "PASSED" : "FAILED"), fruitbowl);

console.log("\n\n === Cropping the bowl... ===\n\n");

fruitbowl.length = 2;
console.log("Should have 2 items [orange,banana]: " + (fruitbowl.length == 2 ? "PASSED" : "FAILED"));
console.log("Should error at item 2: " + (!fruitbowl[2] ? "PASSED" : "FAILED"), fruitbowl);

console.log("\n\n === Splicing the bowl... ===\n\n");

console.log(fruitbowl.length);

try {
  console.log(fruitbowl.length);
  fruitbowl.splice(0, 0, "pineapples!!1one");
  console.log(fruitbowl.length);
} catch (e) {
  console.log("Shouldn't have inserted string: PASSED");
}
console.log("Should still only have 2 fruit: " + (fruitbowl.length == 2 ? "PASSED" : "FAILED (" + fruitbowl.length + ")"));
console.log(fruitbowl);</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</p>