An object reference to the currently running
class instance that you can optionally use to access class members
defined within the current class hierarchy.
Syntax
THIS-OBJECT [ : class-member-reference ]
|
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class-member-reference
-
A reference to an instance variable data member, instance
property, or instance method defined within the current class hierarchy.
Any variable data member cannot be defined as an array (with an EXTENT).
Example
The
following code fragment shows two instance methods defined within
a class, where you must qualify a call to one of them with THIS-OBJECT
because its name, Display, is an ABL reserved keyword:
CLASS TestClass:
METHOD VOID Display( ):
END METHOD.
METHOD VOID Foo( ):
THIS-OBJECT:Display( ).
END METHOD.
END CLASS.
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Notes
- You
can use THIS-OBJECT without a method call to pass an object reference
to the currently running object instance as a parameter, or to return
an object reference to itself as a method return value.
- Use of the THIS-OBJECT system reference to call instance methods that
are available within the class hierarchy where they are defined
is generally optional. However, you must use the THIS-OBJECT system
reference to call any instance method whose name is identical to an
ABL reserved keyword. The same is true if you are calling an event method
on a class-defined or inherited instance event of a class whose name
is identical to an ABL reserved keyword. For more information, see the Class-based method call reference entry and the Class Events Reference.
- Use of the THIS-OBJECT system reference to access instance variable data
members or properties that are available within the class hierarchy where
they are defined is optional. However, you must use the THIS-OBJECT
system reference to access any such data member or property whose
name is identical to an ABL reserved keyword. For more information,
see the Class-based data member access and Class-based property access reference entry.
- You cannot use the THIS-OBJECT system reference to access
a static class member.
- To invoke other constructors defined within the current class,
use the THIS-OBJECT statement.
