ECMAScript 6 class destructor

Question

I know ECMAScript 6 has constructors but is there such a thing as destructors for ECMAScript 6?

For example if I register some of my object\'s methods as event liste

Answer 1

If there is no such mechanism, what is a pattern/convention for such problems?

The term 'cleanup' might be more appropriate, but will use 'destructor' to match OP

Suppose you write some javascript entirely with 'function's and 'var's. Then you can use the pattern of writing all the functions code within the framework of a try/catch/finally lattice. Within finally perform the destruction code.

Instead of the C++ style of writing object classes with unspecified lifetimes, and then specifying the lifetime by arbitrary scopes and the implicit call to ~() at scope end (~() is destructor in C++), in this javascript pattern the object is the function, the scope is exactly the function scope, and the destructor is the finally block.

If you are now thinking this pattern is inherently flawed because try/catch/finally doesn't encompass asynchronous execution which is essential to javascript, then you are correct. Fortunately, since 2018 the asynchronous programming helper object Promise has had a prototype function finally added to the already existing resolve and catch prototype functions. That means that that asynchronous scopes requiring destructors can be written with a Promise object, using finally as the destructor. Furthermore you can use try/catch/finally in an async function calling Promises with or without await, but must be aware that Promises called without await will be execute asynchronously outside the scope and so handle the desctructor code in a final then.

In the following code PromiseA and PromiseB are some legacy API level promises which don't have finally function arguments specified. PromiseC DOES have a finally argument defined.

async function afunc(a,b){
    try {
        function resolveB(r){ ... }
        function catchB(e){ ... }
        function cleanupB(){ ... }
        function resolveC(r){ ... }
        function catchC(e){ ... }
        function cleanupC(){ ... }
        ...
        // PromiseA preced by await sp will finish before finally block.  
        // If no rush then safe to handle PromiseA cleanup in finally block 
        var x = await PromiseA(a);
        // PromiseB,PromiseC not preceded by await - will execute asynchronously
        // so might finish after finally block so we must provide 
        // explicit cleanup (if necessary)
        PromiseB(b).then(resolveB,catchB).then(cleanupB,cleanupB);
        PromiseC(c).then(resolveC,catchC,cleanupC);
    }
    catch(e) { ... }
    finally { /* scope destructor/cleanup code here */ }
}

I am not advocating that every object in javascript be written as a function. Instead, consider the case where you have a scope identified which really 'wants' a destructor to be called at its end of life. Formulate that scope as a function object, using the pattern's finally block (or finally function in the case of an asynchronous scope) as the destructor. It is quite like likely that formulating that functional object obviated the need for a non-function class which would otherwise have been written - no extra code was required, aligning scope and class might even be cleaner.

Note: As others have written, we should not confuse destructors and garbage collection. As it happens C++ destructors are often or mainly concerned with manual garbage collection, but not exclusively so. Javascript has no need for manual garbage collection, but asynchronous scope end-of-life is often a place for (de)registering event listeners, etc..