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The Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Compiler
The Angular Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compiler converts your Angular HTML and TypeScript code into efficient JavaScript code during the build phase before the browser downloads and runs that code.
Angular 的“预先(AOT)编译器”会在构建期间把 Angular 应用的 HTML 和 TypeScript 代码编译成高效的 JavaScript 代码,之后浏览器就可以下载并快速运行这些代码。
This guide explains how to build with the AOT compiler using different compiler options and how to write Angular metadata that AOT can compile.
本章描述了如何使用 AOT 编译器,以及如何书写能被 AOT 编译的 Angular 元数据。
Watch compiler author Tobias Bosch explain the Angular Compiler at AngularConnect 2016.
观看 Angular 编译器的作者Tobias Bosch 在 AngularConnect 2016 上对编译器的解释。
{@a overview}
Angular compilation
概览
An Angular application consists largely of components and their HTML templates. Before the browser can render the application, the components and templates must be converted to executable JavaScript by an Angular compiler.
Angular offers two ways to compile your application:
- Just-in-Time (JIT), which compiles your app in the browser at runtime
- Ahead-of-Time (AOT), which compiles your app at build time.
JIT compilation is the default when you run the build-only or the build-and-serve-locally CLI commands:
ng build ng serve{@a compile}
For AOT compilation, append the --aot
flags to the build-only or the build-and-serve-locally CLI commands:
Angular应用主要包含组件和它们的HTML模板。 在浏览器可以渲染应用之前,组件和模板必须要被Angular编译器转换为可以执行的JavaScript。
The --prod
meta-flag compiles with AOT by default.
See the CLI documentation for details, especially the build
topic.
要了解更多,请参见CLI 文档,特别是build
这个主题。
{@a why-aot}
Why compile with AOT?
为什么需要AOT编译?
Faster rendering
渲染得更快
With AOT, the browser downloads a pre-compiled version of the application. The browser loads executable code so it can render the application immediately, without waiting to compile the app first.
使用AOT,浏览器下载预编译版本的应用程序。 浏览器直接加载运行代码,所以它可以立即渲染该应用,而不用等应用完成首次编译。
Fewer asynchronous requests
需要的异步请求更少
The compiler inlines external HTML templates and CSS style sheets within the application JavaScript, eliminating separate ajax requests for those source files.
编译器把外部HTML模板和CSS样式表内联到了该应用的JavaScript中。 消除了用来下载那些源文件的Ajax请求。
Smaller Angular framework download size
需要下载的Angular框架体积更小
There's no need to download the Angular compiler if the app is already compiled. The compiler is roughly half of Angular itself, so omitting it dramatically reduces the application payload.
如果应用已经编译过了,自然不需要再下载Angular编译器了。 该编译器差不多占了Angular自身体积的一半儿,所以,省略它可以显著减小应用的体积。
Detect template errors earlier
提早检测模板错误
The AOT compiler detects and reports template binding errors during the build step before users can see them.
AOT编译器在构建过程中检测和报告模板绑定错误,避免用户遇到这些错误。
Better security
更安全
AOT compiles HTML templates and components into JavaScript files long before they are served to the client. With no templates to read and no risky client-side HTML or JavaScript evaluation, there are fewer opportunities for injection attacks.
AOT编译远在HTML模版和组件被服务到客户端之前,将它们编译到JavaScript文件。 没有模版可以阅读,没有高风险客户端HTML或JavaScript可利用,所以注入攻击的机会较少。
{@a compiler-options}
Angular Compiler Options
You can control your app compilation by providing template compiler options in the tsconfig.json
file along with the options supplied to the TypeScript compiler. The template compiler options are specified as members of
"angularCompilerOptions"
object as shown below:
{
"compilerOptions": {
"experimentalDecorators": true,
...
},
"angularCompilerOptions": {
"fullTemplateTypeCheck": true,
"preserveWhitespaces": true,
...
}
}
skipMetadataEmit
This option tells the compiler not to produce .metadata.json
files.
The option is false
by default.
.metadata.json
files contain infomration needed by the template compiler from a .ts
file that is not included in the .d.ts
file produced by the TypeScript compiler. This information contains,
for example, the content of annotations (such as a component's template) which TypeScript
emits to the .js
file but not to the .d.ts
file.
This option should be set to true
if using TypeScript's --outFile
option, as the metadata files
are not valid for this style of TypeScript output. It is not recommeded to use --outFile
with
Angular. Use a bundler, such as webpack, instead.
This option can also be set to true
when using factory summaries as the factory summaries
include a copy of the information that is in the .metadata.json
file.
strictMetadataEmit
This option tells the template compiler to report an error to the .metadata.json
file if "skipMetadataEmit"
is false
. This option is false
by default. This should only be used when "skipMetadataEmit"
is false
and "skipTemplateCodeGen"
is true
.
It is intended to validate the .metadata.json
files emitted for bundling with an npm
package. The validation is overly strict and can emit errors for metadata that would never produce an error when used by the template compiler. You can choose to suppress the error emitted by this option for an exported symbol by including @dynamic
in the comment documenting the symbol.
It is valid for .metadata.json
files to contain errors. The template compiler reports these errors
if the metadata is used to determine the contents of an annotation. The metadata
collector cannot predict the symbols that are designed to use in an annotation, so it will preemptively
include error nodes in the metadata for the exported symbols. The template compiler can then use the error
nodes to report an error if these symbols are used. If the client of a library intends to use a symbol in an annotation, the template compiler will not normally report
this until the client uses the symbol. This option allows detecting these errors during the build phase of
the library and is used, for example, in producing Angular libraries themselves.
skipTemplateCodegen
This option tells the compiler to suppress emitting .ngfactory.js
and .ngstyle.js
files. When set,
this turns off most of the template compiler and disables reporting template diagnostics.
This option can be used to instruct the
template compiler to produce .metadata.json
files for distribution with an npm
package while
avoiding the production of .ngfactory.js
and .ngstyle.js
files that cannot be distributed to
npm
.
strictInjectionParameters
When set to true
, this options tells the compiler to report an error for a parameter supplied
whose injection type cannot be determined. When this value option is not provided or is false
, constructor parameters of classes marked with @Injectable
whose type cannot be resolved will
produce a warning.
Note: It is recommended to change this option explicitly to true
as this option will default to true
in the future.
flatModuleOutFile
When set to true
, this option tells the template compiler to generate a flat module
index of the given file name and the corresponding flat module metadata. Use this option when creating
flat modules that are packaged similarly to @angular/core
and @angular/common
. When this option
is used, the package.json
for the library should refer
to the generated flat module index instead of the library index file. With this
option only one .metadata.json
file is produced that contains all the metadata necessary
for symbols exported from the library index. In the generated .ngfactory.js
files, the flat
module index is used to import symbols that includes both the public API from the library index
as well as shrowded internal symbols.
By default the .ts
file supplied in the files
field is assumed to be library index.
If more than one .ts
file is specified, libraryIndex
is used to select the file to use.
If more than one .ts
file is supplied without a libraryIndex
, an error is produced. A flat module
index .d.ts
and .js
will be created with the given flatModuleOutFile
name in the same
location as the library index .d.ts
file. For example, if a library uses
public_api.ts
file as the library index of the module, the tsconfig.json
files
field
would be ["public_api.ts"]
. The flatModuleOutFile
options could then be set to, for
example "index.js"
, which produces index.d.ts
and index.metadata.json
files. The
library's package.json
's module
field would be "index.js"
and the typings
field
would be "index.d.ts"
.
flatModuleId
This option specifies the preferred module id to use for importing a flat module.
References generated by the template compiler will use this module name when importing symbols
from the flat module.
This is only meaningful when flatModuleOutFile
is also supplied. Otherwise the compiler ignores
this option.
generateCodeForLibraries
This option tells the template compiler to generate factory files (.ngfactory.js
and .ngstyle.js
)
for .d.ts
files with a corresponding .metadata.json
file. This option defaults to
true
. When this option is false
, factory files are generated only for .ts
files.
This option should be set to false
when using factory summaries.
fullTemplateTypeCheck
This option tells the compiler to enable the binding expression validation phase of the template compiler which uses TypeScript to validate binding expressions.
This option is false
by default.
Note: It is recommended to set this to true
as this option will default to true
in the future.
annotateForClosureCompiler
This option tells the compiler to use Tsickle to annotate the emitted
JavaScript with JsDoc comments needed by the
Closure Compiler. This option defaults to false
.
annotationsAs
Use this option to modify how the Angular specific annotations are emitted to improve tree-shaking. Non-Angular
annotations and decorators are unnaffected. Default is static fields
.
value | description |
---|---|
decorators |
Leave the Decorators in-place. This makes compilation faster. TypeScript will emit calls to the __decorate helper. Use --emitDecoratorMetadata for runtime reflection. However, the resulting code will not properly tree-shake. |
static fields |
Replace decorators with a static field in the class. Allows advanced tree-shakers like Closure Compiler to remove unused classes. |
trace
This tells the compiler to print extra information while compiling templates.
enableLegacyTemplate
The use of <template>
element was deprecated starting in Angular 4.0 in favor of using
<ng-template>
to avoid colliding with the DOM's element of the same name. Setting this option to
true
enables the use of the deprecated <template>
element . This option
is false
by default. This option might be required by some third-party Angular libraries.
disableExpressionLowering
The Angular template compiler transforms code that is used, or could be used, in an annotation to allow it to be imported from template factory modules. See metadata rewriting for more information.
Setting this option to false
disables this rewriting, requiring the rewriting to be
done manually.
preserveWhitespaces
This option tells the compiler whether to remove blank text nodes from compiled templates.
As of v6, this option is false
by default, which results in smaller emitted template factory modules.
allowEmptyCodegenFiles
Tells the compiler to generate all the possible generated files even if they are empty. This option is
false
by default. This is an option used by bazel
build rules and is needed to simplify
how bazel
rules track file dependencies. It is not recommended to use this option outside of the bazel
rules.
enableIvy
Tells the compiler to generate definitions using the Render3 style code generation. This option defaults to false
.
Not all features are supported with this option enabled. It is only supported for experimentation and testing of Render3 style code generation.
Note: Is it not recommended to use this option as it is not yet feature complete with the Render2 code generation.
Angular Metadata and AOT
Angular 元数据与 AOT
The Angular AOT compiler extracts and interprets metadata about the parts of the application that Angular is supposed to manage.
Angular 的 AOT 编译器会提取并解释应用中由 Angular 管理的各个部件的元数据。
Angular metadata tells Angular how to construct instances of your application classes and interact with them at runtime.
Angular 的元数据会告诉 Angular 如何创建应用中类的实例以及如何在运行期间与它们交互。
You specify the metadata with decorators such as @Component()
and @Input()
.
You also specify metadata implicitly in the constructor declarations of these decorated classes.
我们通过装饰器来指定元数据,比如 @Component()
和 @Input()
。
我们还可以在这些带装饰器的类的构造函数中隐式指定元数据。
In the following example, the @Component()
metadata object and the class constructor tell Angular how to create and display an instance of TypicalComponent
.
在下列范例中,@Component()
元数据对象和类的构造函数会告诉 Angular 如何创建和显示 TypicalComponent
的实例。
@Component({
selector: 'app-typical',
template: '<div>A typical component for {{data.name}}</div>'
)}
export class TypicalComponent {
@Input() data: TypicalData;
constructor(private someService: SomeService) { ... }
}
The Angular compiler extracts the metadata once and generates a factory for TypicalComponent
.
When it needs to create a TypicalComponent
instance, Angular calls the factory, which produces a new visual element, bound to a new instance of the component class with its injected dependency.
Angular 编译器只提取一次元数据,并且为 TypicalComponent
生成一个工厂。
当它需要创建 TypicalComponent
的实例时,Angular 调用这个工厂,工厂会生成一个新的可视元素,并且把它(及其依赖)绑定到组件类的一个新实例上。
Metadata restrictions
元数据的限制
You write metadata in a subset of TypeScript that must conform to the following general constraints:
我们只能使用 TypeScript 的一个子集书写元数据,它必须满足下列限制:
-
Limit expression syntax to the supported subset of JavaScript.
表达式语法只支持 JavaScript 的一个有限的子集。
-
Only reference exported symbols after code folding.
只能引用代码收缩后导出的符号。
-
Only call functions supported by the compiler.
只能调用编译器支持的那些函数。
-
Decorated and data-bound class members must be public.
被装饰和用于数据绑定的类成员必须是公共(public)的。
The next sections elaborate on these points.
我们将在下一节详细解释这些问题。
How AOT works
AOT 工作原理
It helps to think of the AOT compiler as having two phases: a code analysis phase in which it simply records a representation of the source; and a code generation phase in which the compiler's StaticReflector
handles the interpretation as well as places restrictions on what it interprets.
我们可以把 AOT 编译器看做两个阶段:在代码分析阶段,它只记录源代码,而在代码生成阶段,编译器的StaticReflector
会解释这些结果,并为这些结果加上限制。
Phase 1: analysis
阶段1:分析
The TypeScript compiler does some of the analytic work of the first phase. It emits the .d.ts
type definition files with type information that the AOT compiler needs to generate application code.
TypeScript 编译器会做一些初步的分析工作,它会生成类型定义文件.d.ts
,其中带有类型信息,Angular 编译器需要借助它们来生成代码。
At the same time, the AOT collector analyzes the metadata recorded in the Angular decorators and outputs metadata information in .metadata.json
files, one per .d.ts
file.
同时,AOT 收集器(collector) 会记录 Angular 装饰器中的元数据,并把它们输出到**.metadata.json
**文件中,和每个.d.ts
文件相对应。
You can think of .metadata.json
as a diagram of the overall structure of a decorator's metadata, represented as an abstract syntax tree (AST).
我们可以把.metadata.json
文件看做一个包括全部装饰器的元数据的全景图,就像抽象语法树 (AST) 一样。
Angular's schema.ts describes the JSON format as a collection of TypeScript interfaces.
Angular 的 schema.ts 把这个 JSON 格式表示成了一组 TypeScript 接口。
{@a expression-syntax}
Expression syntax
The collector only understands a subset of JavaScript. Define metadata objects with the following limited syntax:
这个收集器只能理解 JavaScript 的一个子集。 请使用下列受限语法定义元数据对象:
Syntax | Example |
---|---|
Literal object | {cherry: true, apple: true, mincemeat: false} |
Literal array | ['cherries', 'flour', 'sugar'] |
Spread in literal array | ['apples', 'flour', ...the_rest] |
Calls | bake(ingredients) |
New | new Oven() |
Property access | pie.slice |
Array index | ingredients[0] |
Identifier reference | Component |
A template string | `pie is ${multiplier} times better than cake` |
Literal string | 'pi' |
Literal number | 3.14153265 |
Literal boolean | true |
Literal null | null |
Supported prefix operator | !cake |
Supported Binary operator | a + b |
Conditional operator | a ? b : c |
Parentheses | (a + b) |
If an expression uses unsupported syntax, the collector writes an error node to the .metadata.json
file. The compiler later reports the error if it needs that
piece of metadata to generate the application code.
如果表达式使用了不支持的语法,收集器就会往.metadata.json
文件中写入一个错误节点。稍后,如果编译器用到元数据中的这部分内容来生成应用代码,它就会报告这个错误。
If you want ngc
to report syntax errors immediately rather than produce a .metadata.json
file with errors, set the strictMetadataEmit
option in tsconfig
.
如果你希望ngc
立即汇报这些语法错误,而不要生成带有错误信息的.metadata.json
文件,可以到tsconfig
中设置 strictMetadataEmit
选项。
"angularCompilerOptions": {
...
"strictMetadataEmit" : true
}
Angular libraries have this option to ensure that all Angular .metadata.json
files are clean and it is a best practice to do the same when building your own libraries.
Angular 库通过这个选项来确保所有的 .metadata.json
文件都是干净的。当你要构建自己的代码库时,这也同样是一项最佳实践。
{@a function-expression} {@a arrow-functions}
No arrow functions
The AOT compiler does not support function expressions and arrow functions, also called lambda functions.
Consider the following component decorator:
@Component({
...
providers: [{provide: server, useFactory: () => new Server()}]
})
The AOT collector does not support the arrow function, () => new Server()
, in a metadata expression.
It generates an error node in place of the function.
When the compiler later interprets this node, it reports an error that invites you to turn the arrow function into an exported function.
You can fix the error by converting to this:
export function serverFactory() {
return new Server();
}
@Component({
...
providers: [{provide: server, useFactory: serverFactory}]
})
Beginning in version 5, the compiler automatically performs this rewritting while emitting the .js
file.
{@a function-calls}
Limited function calls
The collector can represent a function call or object creation with new
as long as the syntax is valid. The collector only cares about proper syntax.
But beware. The compiler may later refuse to generate a call to a particular function or creation of a particular object.
The compiler only supports calls to a small set of functions and will use new
for only a few designated classes. These functions and classes are in a table of below.
Folding
{@a exported-symbols} The compiler can only resolve references to exported symbols. Fortunately, the collector enables limited use of non-exported symbols through folding.
The collector may be able to evaluate an expression during collection and record the result in the .metadata.json
instead of the original expression.
For example, the collector can evaluate the expression 1 + 2 + 3 + 4
and replace it with the result, 10
.
This process is called folding. An expression that can be reduced in this manner is foldable.
{@a var-declaration}
The collector can evaluate references to
module-local const
declarations and initialized var
and let
declarations, effectively removing them from the .metadata.json
file.
Consider the following component definition:
const template = '<div>{{hero.name}}</div>';
@Component({
selector: 'app-hero',
template: template
})
export class HeroComponent {
@Input() hero: Hero;
}
The compiler could not refer to the template
constant because it isn't exported.
But the collector can fold the template
constant into the metadata definition by inlining its contents.
The effect is the same as if you had written:
@Component({
selector: 'app-hero',
template: '<div>{{hero.name}}</div>'
})
export class HeroComponent {
@Input() hero: Hero;
}
There is no longer a reference to template
and, therefore, nothing to trouble the compiler when it later interprets the collector's output in .metadata.json
.
You can take this example a step further by including the template
constant in another expression:
const template = '<div>{{hero.name}}</div>';
@Component({
selector: 'app-hero',
template: template + '<div>{{hero.title}}</div>'
})
export class HeroComponent {
@Input() hero: Hero;
}
The collector reduces this expression to its equivalent folded string:
'<div>{{hero.name}}</div><div>{{hero.title}}</div>'
.
Foldable syntax
The following table describes which expressions the collector can and cannot fold:
Syntax | Foldable |
---|---|
Literal object | yes |
Literal array | yes |
Spread in literal array | no |
Calls | no |
New | no |
Property access | yes, if target is foldable |
Array index | yes, if target and index are foldable |
Identifier reference | yes, if it is a reference to a local |
A template with no substitutions | yes |
A template with substitutions | yes, if the substitutions are foldable |
Literal string | yes |
Literal number | yes |
Literal boolean | yes |
Literal null | yes |
Supported prefix operator | yes, if operand is foldable |
Supported binary operator | yes, if both left and right are foldable |
Conditional operator | yes, if condition is foldable |
Parentheses | yes, if the expression is foldable |
If an expression is not foldable, the collector writes it to .metadata.json
as an AST for the compiler to resolve.
Phase 2: code generation
The collector makes no attempt to understand the metadata that it collects and outputs to .metadata.json
. It represents the metadata as best it can and records errors when it detects a metadata syntax violation.
It's the compiler's job to interpret the .metadata.json
in the code generation phase.
The compiler understands all syntax forms that the collector supports, but it may reject syntactically correct metadata if the semantics violate compiler rules.
The compiler can only reference exported symbols.
Decorated component class members must be public. You cannot make an @Input()
property private or internal.
Data bound properties must also be public.
// BAD CODE - title is private
@Component({
selector: 'app-root',
template: '<h1>{{title}}</h1>'
})
export class AppComponent {
private title = 'My App'; // Bad
}
{@a supported-functions} Most importantly, the compiler only generates code to create instances of certain classes, support certain decorators, and call certain functions from the following lists.
New instances
The compiler only allows metadata that create instances of the class InjectionToken
from @angular/core
.
Annotations/Decorators
The compiler only supports metadata for these Angular decorators.
Decorator | Module |
---|---|
Attribute |
@angular/core |
Component |
@angular/core |
ContentChild |
@angular/core |
ContentChildren |
@angular/core |
Directive |
@angular/core |
Host |
@angular/core |
HostBinding |
@angular/core |
HostListener |
@angular/core |
Inject |
@angular/core |
Injectable |
@angular/core |
Input |
@angular/core |
NgModule |
@angular/core |
Optional |
@angular/core |
Output |
@angular/core |
Pipe |
@angular/core |
Self |
@angular/core |
SkipSelf |
@angular/core |
ViewChild |
@angular/core |
Macro-functions and macro-static methods
The compiler also supports macros in the form of functions or static methods that return an expression.
For example, consider the following function:
export function wrapInArray<T>(value: T): T[] {
return [value];
}
You can call the wrapInArray
in a metadata definition because it returns the value of an expression that conforms to the compiler's restrictive JavaScript subset.
You might use wrapInArray()
like this:
@NgModule({
declarations: wrapInArray(TypicalComponent)
})
export class TypicalModule {}
The compiler treats this usage as if you had written:
@NgModule({
declarations: [TypicalComponent]
})
export class TypicalModule {}
The collector is simplistic in its determination of what qualifies as a macro
function; it can only contain a single return
statement.
The Angular RouterModule
exports two macro static methods, forRoot
and forChild
, to help declare root and child routes.
Review the source code
for these methods to see how macros can simplify configuration of complex NgModules.
{@a metadata-rewriting}
Metadata rewriting
The compiler treats object literals containing the fields useClass
, useValue
, useFactory
, and data
specially. The compiler converts the expression initializing one of these fields into an exported variable, which replaces the expression. This process of rewriting these expressions removes all the restrictions on what can be in them because
the compiler doesn't need to know the expression's value—it just needs to be able to generate a reference to the value.
You might write something like:
class TypicalServer {
}
@NgModule({
providers: [{provide: SERVER, useFactory: () => TypicalServer}]
})
export class TypicalModule {}
Without rewriting, this would be invalid because lambdas are not supported and TypicalServer
is not exported.
To allow this, the compiler automatically rewrites this to something like:
class TypicalServer {
}
export const ɵ0 = () => new TypicalServer();
@NgModule({
providers: [{provide: SERVER, useFactory: ɵ0}]
})
export class TypicalModule {}
This allows the compiler to generate a reference to ɵ0
in the
factory without having to know what the value of ɵ0
contains.
The compiler does the rewriting during the emit of the .js
file. This doesn't rewrite the .d.ts
file, however, so TypeScript doesn't recognize it as being an export. Thus, it does not pollute the ES module's exported API.
Metadata Errors
The following are metadata errors you may encounter, with explanations and suggested corrections.
Expression form not supported
Reference to a local (non-exported) symbol
Only initialized variables and constants
Reference to a non-exported class
Reference to a non-exported function
Function calls are not supported
Destructured variable or constant not supported
Could not resolve type
Name expected
Unsupported enum member name
Tagged template expressions are not supported
Symbol reference expected
Expression form not supported
The compiler encountered an expression it didn't understand while evalutating Angular metadata.
Language features outside of the compiler's restricted expression syntax can produce this error, as seen in the following example:
// ERROR
export class Fooish { ... }
...
const prop = typeof Fooish; // typeof is not valid in metadata
...
// bracket notation is not valid in metadata
{ provide: 'token', useValue: { [prop]: 'value' } };
...
You can use typeof
and bracket notation in normal application code.
You just can't use those features within expressions that define Angular metadata.
Avoid this error by sticking to the compiler's restricted expression syntax when writing Angular metadata and be wary of new or unusual TypeScript features.
{@a reference-to-a-local-symbol}
Reference to a local (non-exported) symbol
Reference to a local (non-exported) symbol 'symbol name'. Consider exporting the symbol.
The compiler encountered a referenced to a locally defined symbol that either wasn't exported or wasn't initialized.
Here's a provider
example of the problem.
// ERROR
let foo: number; // neither exported nor initialized
@Component({
selector: 'my-component',
template: ... ,
providers: [
{ provide: Foo, useValue: foo }
]
})
export class MyComponent {}
The compiler generates the component factory, which includes the useValue
provider code, in a separate module. That factory module can't reach back to this source module to access the local (non-exported) foo
variable.
You could fix the problem by initializing foo
.
let foo = 42; // initialized
The compiler will fold the expression into the provider as if you had written this.
providers: [
{ provide: Foo, useValue: 42 }
]```
Alternatively, you can fix it by exporting `foo` with the expectation that `foo` will be assigned at runtime when you actually know its value.
// CORRECTED export let foo: number; // exported
@Component({ selector: 'my-component', template: ... , providers: [ { provide: Foo, useValue: foo } ] }) export class MyComponent {}
Adding `export` often works for variables referenced in metadata such as `providers` and `animations` because the compiler can generate _references_ to the exported variables in these expressions. It doesn't need the _values_ of those variables.
Adding `export` doesn't work when the compiler needs the _actual value_
in order to generate code.
For example, it doesn't work for the `template` property.
// ERROR export let someTemplate: string; // exported but not initialized
@Component({ selector: 'my-component', template: someTemplate }) export class MyComponent {}
The compiler needs the value of the `template` property _right now_ to generate the component factory.
The variable reference alone is insufficient.
Prefixing the declaration with `export` merely produces a new error, "[`Only initialized variables and constants can be referenced`](#only-initialized-variables)".
<hr>
{@a only-initialized-variables}
<h3 class="no-toc">Only initialized variables and constants</h3>
<div class="alert is-helpful">
_Only initialized variables and constants can be referenced because the value of this variable is needed by the template compiler._
</div>
The compiler found a reference to an exported variable or static field that wasn't initialized.
It needs the value of that variable to generate code.
The following example tries to set the component's `template` property to the value of
the exported `someTemplate` variable which is declared but _unassigned_.
// ERROR export let someTemplate: string;
@Component({ selector: 'my-component', template: someTemplate }) export class MyComponent {}
You'd also get this error if you imported `someTemplate` from some other module and neglected to initialize it there.
// ERROR - not initialized there either import { someTemplate } from './config';
@Component({ selector: 'my-component', template: someTemplate }) export class MyComponent {}
The compiler cannot wait until runtime to get the template information.
It must statically derive the value of the `someTemplate` variable from the source code
so that it can generate the component factory, which includes
instructions for building the element based on the template.
To correct this error, provide the initial value of the variable in an initializer clause _on the same line_.
// CORRECTED export let someTemplate = '
Greetings from Angular
';@Component({ selector: 'my-component', template: someTemplate }) export class MyComponent {}
<hr>
<h3 class="no-toc">Reference to a non-exported class</h3>
<div class="alert is-helpful">
_Reference to a non-exported class <class name>. Consider exporting the class._
</div>
Metadata referenced a class that wasn't exported.
For example, you may have defined a class and used it as an injection token in a providers array
but neglected to export that class.
// ERROR abstract class MyStrategy { }
... providers: [ { provide: MyStrategy, useValue: ... } ] ...
Angular generates a class factory in a separate module and that
factory [can only access exported classes](#exported-symbols).
To correct this error, export the referenced class.
// CORRECTED export abstract class MyStrategy { }
... providers: [ { provide: MyStrategy, useValue: ... } ] ...
<hr>
<h3 class="no-toc">Reference to a non-exported function</h3>
Metadata referenced a function that wasn't exported.
For example, you may have set a providers `useFactory` property to a locally defined function that you neglected to export.
// ERROR function myStrategy() { ... }
... providers: [ { provide: MyStrategy, useFactory: myStrategy } ] ...
Angular generates a class factory in a separate module and that
factory [can only access exported functions](#exported-symbols).
To correct this error, export the function.
// CORRECTED export function myStrategy() { ... }
... providers: [ { provide: MyStrategy, useFactory: myStrategy } ] ...
<hr>
{@a function-calls-not-supported}
<h3 class="no-toc">Function calls are not supported</h3>
<div class="alert is-helpful">
_Function calls are not supported. Consider replacing the function or lambda with a reference to an exported function._
</div>
The compiler does not currently support [function expressions or lambda functions](#function-expression).
For example, you cannot set a provider's `useFactory` to an anonymous function or arrow function like this.
// ERROR ... providers: [ { provide: MyStrategy, useFactory: function() { ... } }, { provide: OtherStrategy, useFactory: () => { ... } } ] ...
You also get this error if you call a function or method in a provider's `useValue`.
// ERROR import { calculateValue } from './utilities';
... providers: [ { provide: SomeValue, useValue: calculateValue() } ] ...
To correct this error, export a function from the module and refer to the function in a `useFactory` provider instead.
<code-example linenums="false">
// CORRECTED
import { calculateValue } from './utilities';
export function myStrategy() { ... }
export function otherStrategy() { ... }
export function someValueFactory() {
return calculateValue();
}
...
providers: [
{ provide: MyStrategy, useFactory: myStrategy },
{ provide: OtherStrategy, useFactory: otherStrategy },
{ provide: SomeValue, useFactory: someValueFactory }
]
...
</code-example>
<hr>
{@a destructured-variable-not-supported}
<h3 class="no-toc">Destructured variable or constant not supported</h3>
<div class="alert is-helpful">
_Referencing an exported destructured variable or constant is not supported by the template compiler. Consider simplifying this to avoid destructuring._
</div>
The compiler does not support references to variables assigned by [destructuring](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/variable-declarations.html#destructuring).
For example, you cannot write something like this:
<code-example linenums="false">
// ERROR
import { configuration } from './configuration';
// destructured assignment to foo and bar
const {foo, bar} = configuration;
...
providers: [
{provide: Foo, useValue: foo},
{provide: Bar, useValue: bar},
]
...
</code-example>
To correct this error, refer to non-destructured values.
<code-example linenums="false">
// CORRECTED
import { configuration } from './configuration';
...
providers: [
{provide: Foo, useValue: configuration.foo},
{provide: Bar, useValue: configuration.bar},
]
...
</code-example>
<hr>
<h3 class="no-toc">Could not resolve type</h3>
The compiler encountered a type and can't determine which module exports that type.
This can happen if you refer to an ambient type.
For example, the `Window` type is an ambiant type declared in the global `.d.ts` file.
You'll get an error if you reference it in the component constructor,
which the compiler must statically analyze.
// ERROR @Component({ }) export class MyComponent { constructor (private win: Window) { ... } }
TypeScript understands ambiant types so you don't import them.
The Angular compiler does not understand a type that you neglect to export or import.
In this case, the compiler doesn't understand how to inject something with the `Window` token.
Do not refer to ambient types in metadata expressions.
If you must inject an instance of an ambiant type,
you can finesse the problem in four steps:
1. Create an injection token for an instance of the ambiant type.
1. Create a factory function that returns that instance.
1. Add a `useFactory` provider with that factory function.
1. Use `@Inject` to inject the instance.
Here's an illustrative example.
<code-example linenums="false">
// CORRECTED
import { Inject } from '@angular/core';
export const WINDOW = new InjectionToken('Window');
export function _window() { return window; }
@Component({
...
providers: [
{ provide: WINDOW, useFactory: _window }
]
})
export class MyComponent {
constructor (@Inject(WINDOW) private win: Window) { ... }
}
</code-example>
The `Window` type in the constructor is no longer a problem for the compiler because it
uses the `@Inject(WINDOW)` to generate the injection code.
Angular does something similar with the `DOCUMENT` token so you can inject the browser's `document` object (or an abstraction of it, depending upon the platform in which the application runs).
<code-example linenums="false">
import { Inject } from '@angular/core';
import { DOCUMENT } from '@angular/platform-browser';
@Component({ ... })
export classMyComponent {
constructor (@Inject(DOCUMENT) private doc: Document) { ... }
}
</code-example>
<hr>
<h3 class="no-toc">Name expected</h3>
The compiler expected a name in an expression it was evaluating.
This can happen if you use a number as a property name as in the following example.
// ERROR provider: [{ provide: Foo, useValue: { 0: 'test' } }]
Change the name of the property to something non-numeric.
// CORRECTED provider: [{ provide: Foo, useValue: { '0': 'test' } }]
<hr>
<h3 class="no-toc">Unsupported enum member name</h3>
Angular couldn't determine the value of the [enum member](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/enums.html)
that you referenced in metadata.
The compiler can understand simple enum values but not complex values such as those derived from computed properties.
<code-example linenums="false">
// ERROR
enum Colors {
Red = 1,
White,
Blue = "Blue".length // computed
}
...
providers: [
{ provide: BaseColor, useValue: Colors.White } // ok
{ provide: DangerColor, useValue: Colors.Red } // ok
{ provide: StrongColor, useValue: Colors.Blue } // bad
]
...
</code-example>
Avoid referring to enums with complicated initializers or computed properties.
<hr>
{@a tagged-template-expressions-not-supported}
<h3 class="no-toc">Tagged template expressions are not supported</h3>
<div class="alert is-helpful">
_Tagged template expressions are not supported in metadata._
</div>
The compiler encountered a JavaScript ES2015 [tagged template expression](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Template_literals#Tagged_template_literals) such as,
// ERROR
const expression = 'funky';
const raw = String.rawA tagged template ${expression} string
;
...
template: '
[`String.raw()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/raw)
is a _tag function_ native to JavaScript ES2015.
The AOT compiler does not support tagged template expressions; avoid them in metadata expressions.
<hr>
<h3 class="no-toc">Symbol reference expected</h3>
The compiler expected a reference to a symbol at the location specified in the error message.
This error can occur if you use an expression in the `extends` clause of a class.
<!--
Chuck: After reviewing your PR comment I'm still at a loss. See [comment there](https://github.com/angular/angular/pull/17712#discussion_r132025495).
-->
{@a binding-expresion-validation}
## Phase 3: binding expression validation
In the validation phase, the Angular template compiler uses the TypeScript compiler to validate the
binding expressions in templates. Enable this phase explicity by adding the compiler
option `"fullTemplateTypeCheck"` in the `"angularCompilerOptions"` of the project's `tsconfig.json` (see
[Angular Compiler Options](#compiler-options)).
Template validation produces error messages when a type error is detected in a template binding
expression, similar to how type errors are reported by the TypeScript compiler against code in a `.ts`
file.
For example, consider the following component:
```typescript
@Component({
selector: 'my-component',
template: '{{person.addresss.street}}'
})
class MyComponent {
person?: Person;
}
This will produce the following error:
my.component.ts.MyComponent.html(1,1): : Property 'addresss' does not exist on type 'Person'. Did you mean 'address'?
The file name reported in the error message, my.component.ts.MyComponent.html
, is a synthetic file
generated by the template compiler that holds contents of the MyComponent
class template.
Compiler never writes this file to disk. The line and column numbers are relative to the template string
in the @Component
annotation of the class, MyComponent
in this case. If a component uses
templateUrl
instead of template
, the errors are reported in the HTML file refereneced by the
templateUrl
instead of a synthetic file.
The error location is the beginning of the text node that contains the interpolation expression with
the error. If the error is in an attribute binding such as [value]="person.address.street"
, the error
location is the location of the attribute that contains the error.
The validation uses the TypeScript type checker and the options supplied to the TypeScript compiler to control
how detailed the type validation is. For example, if the strictTypeChecks
is specified, the error my.component.ts.MyComponent.html(1,1): : Object is possibly 'undefined'
is reported as well as the above error message.
Type narrowing
The expression used in an ngIf
directive is used to narrow type unions in the Angular
template compiler, the same way the if
expression does in TypeScript. For example, to avoid
Object is possibly 'undefined'
error in the template above, modify it to only emit the
interpolation if the value of person
is initialized as shown below:
@Component({
selector: 'my-component',
template: '<span *ngIf="person"> {{person.addresss.street}} </span>'
})
class MyComponent {
person?: Person;
}
Using *ngIf
allows the TypeScript compiler to infer that the person
used in the
binding expression will never be undefined
.
Custom ngIf
like directives
Directives that behave like *ngIf
can declare that they want the same treatment by including
a static member marker that is a signal to the template compiler to treat them
like *ngIf
. This static member for *ngIf
is:
public static ngIfUseIfTypeGuard: void;
This declares that the input property ngIf
of the NgIf
directive should be treated as a
guard to the use of its template, implying that the template will only be instantiated if
the ngIf
input property is true.
Non-null type assertion operator
Use the non-null type assertion operator
to suppress the Object is possibly 'undefined'
error when it is incovienent to use
*ngIf
or when some constraint in the component ensures that the expression is always
non-null when the binding expression is interpolated.
In the following example, the person
and address
properties are always set together,
implying that address
is always non-null if person
is non-null. There is no convenient
way to describe this constraint to TypeScript and the template compiler, but the error
is suppressed in the example by using address!.street
.
@Component({
selector: 'my-component',
template: '<span *ngIf="person"> {{person.name}} lives on {{address!.street}} </span>'
})
class MyComponent {
person?: Person;
address?: Address;
setData(person: Person, address: Address) {
this.person = person;
this.address = address;
}
}
The non-null assertion operator should be used sparingly as refactoring of the component might break this constraint.
In this example it is recommended to include the checking of address
in the *ngIf
as shown below:
@Component({
selector: 'my-component',
template: '<span *ngIf="person && address"> {{person.name}} lives on {{address.street}} </span>'
})
class MyComponent {
person?: Person;
address?: Address;
setData(person: Person, address: Address) {
this.person = person;
this.address = address;
}
}
Disabling type checking using $any()
Disable checking of a binding expression by surrounding the expression
in a call to the $any()
cast pseudo-function.
The compiler treats it as a cast to the any
type just like in TypeScript when a <any>
or as any
cast is used.
In the following example, the error Property addresss does not exist
is suppressed
by casting person
to the any
type.
@Component({
selector: 'my-component',
template: '{{$any(person).addresss.street}}'
})
class MyComponent {
person?: Person;
}
Summary
- What the AOT compiler does and why it is important.
- Why metadata must be written in a subset of JavaScript.
- What that subset is.
- Other restrictions on metadata definition.
- Macro-functions and macro-static methods.
- Compiler errors related to metadata.
- Validation of binding expressions