Object

Inherited By: ARVRPositionalTracker, ARVRServer, AudioServer, CameraServer, ClassDB, EditorFileSystemDirectory, EditorNavigationMeshGenerator, EditorSelection, Engine, Geometry, GodotSharp, IP, Input, InputMap, JSON, JavaScript, MainLoop, Node, OS, Performance, Physics2DDirectBodyState, Physics2DDirectSpaceState, Physics2DServer, PhysicsDirectBodyState, PhysicsDirectSpaceState, PhysicsServer, ProjectSettings, Reference, ResourceLoader, ResourceSaver, TranslationServer, TreeItem, UndoRedo, VisualScriptEditor, VisualServer

Category: Core

Brief Description

Base class for all non built-in types.

Methods

Variant	_get ( String property ) virtual
Array	_get_property_list ( ) virtual
void	_init ( ) virtual
void	_notification ( int what ) virtual
bool	_set ( String property, Variant value ) virtual
String	_to_string ( ) virtual
void	add_user_signal ( String signal, Array arguments=[ ] )
Variant	call ( String method, … ) vararg
Variant	call_deferred ( String method, … ) vararg
Variant	callv ( String method, Array arg_array )
bool	can_translate_messages ( ) const
Error	connect ( String signal, Object target, String method, Array binds=[ ], int flags=0 )
void	disconnect ( String signal, Object target, String method )
Variant	emit_signal ( String signal, … ) vararg
void	free ( )
Variant	get ( String property ) const
String	get_class ( ) const
Array	get_incoming_connections ( ) const
Variant	get_indexed ( NodePath property ) const
int	get_instance_id ( ) const
Variant	get_meta ( String name ) const
PoolStringArray	get_meta_list ( ) const
Array	get_method_list ( ) const
Array	get_property_list ( ) const
Reference	get_script ( ) const
Array	get_signal_connection_list ( String signal ) const
Array	get_signal_list ( ) const
bool	has_meta ( String name ) const
bool	has_method ( String method ) const
bool	has_user_signal ( String signal ) const
bool	is_blocking_signals ( ) const
bool	is_class ( String class ) const
bool	is_connected ( String signal, Object target, String method ) const
bool	is_queued_for_deletion ( ) const
void	notification ( int what, bool reversed=false )
void	property_list_changed_notify ( )
void	remove_meta ( String name )
void	set ( String property, Variant value )
void	set_block_signals ( bool enable )
void	set_deferred ( String property, Variant value )
void	set_indexed ( NodePath property, Variant value )
void	set_message_translation ( bool enable )
void	set_meta ( String name, Variant value )
void	set_script ( Reference script )
String	to_string ( )
String	tr ( String message ) const

Signals

• script_changed ( )

Emitted whenever the object’s script is changed.

Enumerations

enum ConnectFlags:

• CONNECT_DEFERRED = 1 — Connects a signal in deferred mode. This way, signal emissions are stored in a queue, then set on idle time.
• CONNECT_PERSIST = 2 — Persisting connections are saved when the object is serialized to file.
• CONNECT_ONESHOT = 4 — One-shot connections disconnect themselves after emission.
• CONNECT_REFERENCE_COUNTED = 8 — Connect a signal as reference counted. This means that a given signal can be connected several times to the same target, and will only be fully disconnected once no references are left.

Constants

• NOTIFICATION_POSTINITIALIZE = 0 — Called right when the object is initialized. Not available in script.
• NOTIFICATION_PREDELETE = 1 — Called before the object is about to be deleted.

Description

Every class which is not a built-in type inherits from this class.

You can construct Objects from scripting languages, using Object.new() in GDScript, new Object in C#, or the “Construct Object” node in VisualScript.

Objects do not manage memory. If a class inherits from Object, you will have to delete instances of it manually. To do so, call the free method from your script or delete the instance from C++.

Some classes that extend Object add memory management. This is the case of Reference, which counts references and deletes itself automatically when no longer referenced. Node, another fundamental type, deletes all its children when freed from memory.

Objects export properties, which are mainly useful for storage and editing, but not really so much in programming. Properties are exported in _get_property_list and handled in _get and _set. However, scripting languages and C++ have simpler means to export them.

Objects also receive notifications. Notifications are a simple way to notify the object about different events, so they can all be handled together. See _notification.

Method Descriptions

• Variant _get ( String property ) virtual

Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of get.

Returns the given property. Returns null if the property does not exist.

• Array _get_property_list ( ) virtual

Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of get_property_list.

Returns the object’s property list as an Array of dictionaries.

Each property’s Dictionary must contain at least name: String and type: int (see Variant.Type) entries. Optionally, it can also include hint: int (see PropertyHint), hint_string: String, and usage: int (see PropertyUsageFlags).

• void _init ( ) virtual

Called when the object is initialized.

• void _notification ( int what ) virtual

Called whenever the object receives a notification, which is identified in what by a constant. The base Object has two constants NOTIFICATION_POSTINITIALIZE and NOTIFICATION_PREDELETE, but subclasses such as Node define a lot more notifications which are also received by this method.

• bool _set ( String property, Variant value ) virtual

Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of set.

Sets a property. Returns true if the property exists.

• String _to_string ( ) virtual

Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of to_string, and thus the object’s representation where it is converted to a string, e.g. with print(obj).

Returns a String representing the object. If not overridden, defaults to "[ClassName:RID]".

• void add_user_signal ( String signal, Array arguments=[ ] )

Adds a user-defined signal. Arguments are optional, but can be added as an Array of dictionaries, each containing name: String and type: int (see Variant.Type) entries.

• Variant call ( String method, … ) vararg

Calls the method on the object and returns the result. This method supports a variable number of arguments, so parameters are passed as a comma separated list. Example:

call("set", "position", Vector2(42.0, 0.0))

• Variant call_deferred ( String method, … ) vararg

Calls the method on the object during idle time and returns the result. This method supports a variable number of arguments, so parameters are passed as a comma separated list. Example:

call_deferred("set", "position", Vector2(42.0, 0.0))

• Variant callv ( String method, Array arg_array )

Calls the method on the object and returns the result. Contrarily to call, this method does not support a variable number of arguments but expected all parameters passed via a single Array.

callv("set", [ "position", Vector2(42.0, 0.0) ])

• bool can_translate_messages ( ) const

Returns true if the object can translate strings. See set_message_translation and tr.

• Error connect ( String signal, Object target, String method, Array binds=[ ], int flags=0 )

Connects a signal to a method on a target object. Pass optional binds to the call as an Array of parameters. Use flags to set deferred or one-shot connections. See ConnectFlags constants.

A signal can only be connected once to a method. It will throw an error if already connected, unless the signal was connected with CONNECT_REFERENCE_COUNTED. To avoid this, first, use is_connected to check for existing connections.

If the target is destroyed in the game’s lifecycle, the connection will be lost.

Examples:

connect("pressed", self, "_on_Button_pressed") # BaseButton signal
connect("text_entered", self, "_on_LineEdit_text_entered") # LineEdit signal
connect("hit", self, "_on_Player_hit", [ weapon_type, damage ]) # User-defined signal

• void disconnect ( String signal, Object target, String method )

Disconnects a signal from a method on the given target.

If you try to disconnect a connection that does not exist, the method will throw an error. Use is_connected to ensure that the connection exists.

• Variant emit_signal ( String signal, … ) vararg

Emits the given signal. The signal must exist, so it should be a built-in signal of this class or one of its parent classes, or a user-defined signal. This method supports a variable number of arguments, so parameters are passed as a comma separated list. Example:

emit_signal("hit", weapon_type, damage)
emit_signal("game_over")

• void free ( )

Deletes the object from memory. Any pre-existing reference to the freed object will now return null.

• Variant get ( String property ) const

Returns the Variant value of the given property.

• String get_class ( ) const

Returns the object’s class as a String.

• Array get_incoming_connections ( ) const

Returns an Array of dictionaries with information about signals that are connected to the object.

Each Dictionary contains three String entries:

• source is a reference to the signal emitter.
• signal_name is the name of the connected signal.
• method_name is the name of the method to which the signal is connected.

• Variant get_indexed ( NodePath property ) const

Gets the object’s property indexed by the given NodePath. The node path should be relative to the current object and can use the colon character (:) to access nested properties. Examples: "position:x" or "material:next_pass:blend_mode".

• int get_instance_id ( ) const

Returns the object’s unique instance ID.

This ID can be saved in EncodedObjectAsID, and can be used to retrieve the object instance with @GDScript.instance_from_id.

• Variant get_meta ( String name ) const

Returns the object’s metadata entry for the given name.

• PoolStringArray get_meta_list ( ) const

Returns the object’s metadata as a PoolStringArray.

• Array get_method_list ( ) const

Returns the object’s methods and their signatures as an Array.

• Array get_property_list ( ) const

Returns the object’s property list as an Array of dictionaries.

Each property’s Dictionary contain at least name: String and type: int (see Variant.Type) entries. Optionally, it can also include hint: int (see PropertyHint), hint_string: String, and usage: int (see PropertyUsageFlags).

• Reference get_script ( ) const

Returns the object’s Script instance, or null if none is assigned.

• Array get_signal_connection_list ( String signal ) const

Returns an Array of connections for the given signal.

• Array get_signal_list ( ) const

Returns the list of signals as an Array of dictionaries.

• bool has_meta ( String name ) const

Returns true if a metadata entry is found with the given name.

• bool has_method ( String method ) const

Returns true if the object contains the given method.

• bool has_user_signal ( String signal ) const

Returns true if the given user-defined signal exists.

• bool is_blocking_signals ( ) const

Returns true if signal emission blocking is enabled.

• bool is_class ( String class ) const

Returns true if the object inherits from the given class.

• bool is_connected ( String signal, Object target, String method ) const

Returns true if a connection exists for a given signal, target, and method.

• bool is_queued_for_deletion ( ) const

Returns true if the Node.queue_free method was called for the object.

• void notification ( int what, bool reversed=false )

Send a given notification to the object, which will also trigger a call to the _notification method of all classes that the object inherits from.

If reversed is true, _notification is called first on the object’s own class, and then up to its successive parent classes. If reversed is false, _notification is called first on the highest ancestor (Object itself), and then down to its successive inheriting classes.

• void property_list_changed_notify ( )

Notify the editor that the property list has changed, so that editor plugins can take the new values into account. Does nothing on export builds.

• void remove_meta ( String name )

Removes a given entry from the object’s metadata.

• void set ( String property, Variant value )

Assigns a new value to the given property. If the property does not exist, nothing will happen.

• void set_block_signals ( bool enable )

If set to true, signal emission is blocked.

• void set_deferred ( String property, Variant value )

Assigns a new value to the given property, after the current frame’s physics step. This is equivalent to calling set via call_deferred, i.e. call_deferred("set", property, value).

• void set_indexed ( NodePath property, Variant value )

Assigns a new value to the property identified by the NodePath. The node path should be relative to the current object and can use the colon character (:) to access nested properties. Example:

set_indexed("position", Vector2(42, 0))
set_indexed("position:y", -10)
print(position) # (42, -10)

• void set_message_translation ( bool enable )

Defines whether the object can translate strings (with calls to tr). Enabled by default.

• void set_meta ( String name, Variant value )

Adds or changes a given entry in the object’s metadata. Metadata are serialized, and can take any Variant value.

• void set_script ( Reference script )

Assigns a script to the object. Each object can have a single script assigned to it, which are used to extend its functionality.

• String to_string ( )

Returns a String representing the object. If not overridden, defaults to "[ClassName:RID]".

Override the method _to_string to customize the String representation.

• String tr ( String message ) const

Translates a message using translation catalogs configured in the Project Settings.

Only works if message translation is enabled (which it is by default), otherwise it returns the message unchanged. See set_message_translation.