In this article, you will learn how to implement a singleton pattern in Javascript.

What is Singleton Pattern?

Singleton pattern is a design pattern that allows us to use a single instance of a class everywhere.

Implementation

We are creating an empty class MyClass for demonstration purpose.

class MyClass {
  ...
}

const Singleton = (function () {
  var instance;

  function createInstance() {
    var classObj = new MyClass();
    return classObj;
  }

  return {
    getInstance: function () {
        if (!instance) {
            instance = createInstance();
        }
        return instance;
    },
  };
})();

module.exports = Singleton;

The Singleton object is implemented as an IIFE.

An IIFE (Immediately Invoked Function Expression) is a JavaScript function that runs as soon as it is defined.

The createInstance function is responsible for creating the instance of MyClass.

The getInstance method will be invoked via the Singleton object. If the instance of MyClass is not present it will be created and returned, if already present it will return directly without creating a new instance.

So this pattern allows us to access and manipulate the members of a class instance from any file or function.

Example

Let's create a class in a separate file.

// Filename: Username.js

module.exports.Username = class Username {
    constructor() {
        this._username;
    }

    set username(value) {
        this._username = value;
    }

    get username() {
        return this._username;
    }
};

We are using getter and setter to access and set the value of the _username.

Now we will create a file for the Singleton object.

// Filename: singleton.js

const { Username } = require("./Username");

const Singleton = (function () {
    var instance;

    function createInstance() {
        var classObj = new Username();
        return classObj;
    }

    return {
        getInstance: function () {
            if (!instance) {
                instance = createInstance();
            }
            return instance;
        },
    };
})();

module.exports = Singleton;

Here, we are importing the Username class and creating its instance with the help of the Singleton object.

At last, we will create a index.js file to run the program.

// Filename: index.js

const Singleton = require("./Singleton");

function main() {
    var instanceOne = Singleton.getInstance();
    instanceOne.username = "Jack";

    var instanceTwo = Singleton.getInstance();
    console.log("Second Instance: ", instanceTwo.username);
    // Output - Second Instance:  Jack

    console.log("Are both instance equal? ", instanceOne === instanceTwo);
    // Output - Are both instance equal?  true
}

main();

As you can see, first we call the instance of the Username class from the Singleton object and assigning it to variable instanceOne. Then we set the username from instanceOne.

Again, we call the instance of Username class from the Singleton object and this time we are assigning it to another variable instanceTwo. And in the output, we can see that the value of username is the same as we set it through instanceOne.

When we compared if both instances are equal, it returns true.

Conclusion

Singleton object is not creating any new instance every time we call it, instead, it returns the previous instance of the class. Hence, this design pattern is very useful in many cases like using a common database connection etc.

Github Repo Link

---

Thank you for reading 🙏

If you enjoyed this article or found it helpful, give it a thumbs-up 👍

Feel free to connect 👋

Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn