How can I convert an Array of nodes to a static NodeList?

Question

NOTE: Before this question is assumed a duplicate, there is a section at the bottom of this question that addresses why a few similar questions do not provide the answer

Answer 1

Since it seems that creating a real NodeList from an array is having severe fallbacks, maybe you could use a regular JS object with a self-made prototype to emulate a NodeList instead. Like so:

var nodeListProto = Object.create({}, {
        item: {
            value: function(x) {
                return (Object.getOwnPropertyNames(this).indexOf(x.toString()) > -1) ? this[x] : null;
            },
            enumerable: true
        },
        length: {
            get: function() {
                return Object.getOwnPropertyNames(this).length;
            },
            enumerable: true
        }
    }),
    getNodeList = function(nodes) {
        var n, eN = nodes.length,
            list = Object.create(nodeListProto);
        for (n = 0; n < eN; n++) { // *
            Object.defineProperty(list, n.toString(), {
                value: nodes[n],
                enumerable: true
            });
        }
        return list;
    };
// Usage:
var nodeListFromArray = getNodeList(arrayOfNodes);

There are still some fallbacks with this solution. instanceof operator can't recognize the returned object as a NodeList. Also, console loggings and dirrings are shown differently from a NodeList.

(* = A for loop is used to iterate the passed array, so that the function can accept a passed NodeList too. If you prefer a forEach loop, that can be used as well, as long as an array only will be passed.)

A live demo at jsFiddle.