Remove examples that suggest getting type from field.constructor.name#1287
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It is not safe/stable to rely on `.constructor.name` in general because minification will mangle the names of constructor functions (to make them as short as possible). This has confused several folks before, as seen in these issues: Hopding#736 Hopding#755 Hopding#933 Hopding#1089 As such, I think we should remove these examples from the codebase.
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Jan 29, 2026
Using constructor.name to get field types breaks after minification. Updated examples in getFields() and getForm() to show the correct approach using instanceof checks instead. Hopding/pdf-lib#1287 Coded by an LLM.
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What?
This PR remove some code-comment examples that suggest getting type of a PDF field via
field.constructor.name.Why?
It is not safe/stable to rely on
.constructor.namein general because minification will mangle the names of constructor functions (to make them as short as possible).This has confused several folks before, as seen in these issues:
#736
#755
#933
#1089
As such, I think we should remove these examples from the codebase.
How?
I've simply removed the code that uses
.constructor.namefrom these examplesTesting?
No testing is necessary for this PR since it only modifies two code comments.
New Dependencies?
No.
Screenshots
N/A
Suggested Reading?
No, but the reading is not relevant for this PR since it only modifies two code comments.
Anything Else?
No
Checklist
The rest of the checklist is not relevant for this PR since it only modifies two code comments.
I added/updated unit tests for my changes.I added/updated integration tests for my changes.I ran the integration tests.I tested my changes in Node, Deno, and the browser.I viewed documents produced with my changes in Adobe Acrobat, Foxit Reader, Firefox, and Chrome.I added/updated doc comments for any new/modified public APIs.My changes work for both new and existing PDF files.I ran the linter on my changes.