about a Create functions and new instances of objects

[Wildbreath]

For example:
frame1 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent)
frame2 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent)

frame1 == frame2 ?
or frame2 is new widget object?

If second is right then i have a new snippet for optimize all addons

local oldCreateFrame = CreateFrame
CreateFrame = function(ftype, name, ...)
    local frame, texture, fontstring, animation, animationg
    
    if name ~= nil and name:find('map') then return oldCreateFrame(ftype, name, ...) end
    if _G[name] ~= nil then
        frame = _G[name]
    else
        frame = oldCreateFrame(ftype, name, ...)
    end
    
    local oldCreateTexture = frame.CreateTexture
    frame.CreateTexture = function(name, ...)
        if _G[name] ~= nil then
            texture = _G[name]
        else
            texture = oldCreateTexture(name, ...)
        end
        return texture
    end
    
    local oldCreateFontString = frame.CreateFontString
    frame.CreateFontString = function(name, ...)
        if _G[name] ~= nil then
            fontstring = _G[name]
        else
            fontstring = oldCreateFontString(name, ...)
        end
        return fontstring
    end
    
    local oldCreateAnimationGroup = frame.CreateAnimationGroup
    frame.CreateAnimationGroup = function(name, ...)
        if _G[name] ~= nil then
            animationg = _G[name]
        else
            animationg = oldCreateAnimationGroup(name, ...)
        end
        return animationg
    end
 
 
    local oldCreateAnimation = frame.CreateAnimation
    frame.CreateAnimation = function(atype, name, ...)
        if _G[name] ~= nil then
            animation = _G[name]
        else
            animation = oldCreateAnimation(atype, name, ...)
        end
        return animation
    end
    
    return frame
end

[Seerah]

frame1 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent)
frame2 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent)

This creates 2 frames. The first is referenced by the global variable frame1 while the second is referenced by two global variables, frame1 and frame2. While the second frame's frame1 reference overwrites the first frame's reference, that does not mean that the second frame replaces the first. They both still exist.

That said, this snippet is not found in your code block.

if _G[name] ~= nil then
        frame = _G[name]
    else
        frame = oldCreateFrame(ftype, name, ...)
    end

This just says that if the variable name we want to call our frame already exists in the gobal table (which most frames should not be named globally anyway) then assign this frame to the variable frame and... just pass it through the function, replacing some of its methods. The replaced methods do the exact same thing. If there was no frame (or widget) with that global name before, then... just create it as normal. Nothing is changed, except you're replacing the functions with copies of what they originally were.

I have no idea what you are trying to accomplish with this, though. Either I am missing something or your code does nothing that the default UI doesn't already do, except you are adding another complicated layer on top of it... Well, other than not creating any frames if that name already existed...

[SDPhantom]

Originally Posted by Seerah frame1 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent) frame2 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent) This creates 2 frames. The first is referenced by the global variable frame1 while the second is referenced by two global variables, frame1 and frame2. While the second frame's frame1 reference overwrites the first frame's reference, that does not mean that the second frame replaces the first. They both still exist.

Actually, this is incorrect. Two frames are indeed created, but the setting of the global variable from the frame name is more complex. To demonstrate, we'll run the following code.

f1=CreateFrame("Frame","f0");
f2=CreateFrame("Frame","f0");
print(f0,f1,f2);

Notice both frames are created with the name "f0", yet only the first one is stored in that global. This is confirmed by the first 2 pointers printed out being equal. This is because there's an internal check when a frame is created that restricts it to only set the frame name global if it doesn't exist.

Originally Posted by Wildbreath For example: frame1 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent) frame2 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent) frame1 == frame2 ? or frame2 is new widget object? If second is right then i have a new snippet for optimize all addons

As most authors use locals and table keys rather than globals for performance improvements, this method is practically useless.

[Wildbreath]

but when i create frames as local - creates one widget or two and stores first in global table and rewtiting by second CreateFrame?

local frame1 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent)
local frame2 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent)

my snippet should return frame if that existed in _G and return new frame if not exist (by name)
upd. exept secured frames

[Phanx]

Originally Posted by Wildbreath but when i create frames as local - creates one widget or two and stores first in global table and rewtiting by second CreateFrame? local frame1 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent) local frame2 = CreateFrame("frame","frame1",UIParent)

You are still creating two separate frame objects.

print(frame1 == frame2)
==> false
-- They are two separate objects, not the same object.

print(frame2 == _G["frame1"])
==> true
-- The global name "frame1" was most recently assigned to the frame
-- assigned to the frame2 variable.

print(frame1 == _G["frame1"])
==> false
-- The global name "frame1" was assigned to the frame2 object
-- after it was assigned to the frame1 object. The later assignment
-- takes priority, so the global name no longer points to the original object.

Frames are (basically) tables. Like all tables in Lua, they are passed by reference, not by value.

t1 = {}
t2 = {}
-- Creates two new table objects.

print(t1 == t2) ==> false
-- Despite having identical contents, they are not the same object.

t2 = t1
-- Point the t2 variable to the table originally assigned to the t1 variable.
-- The table originally assigned to the t2 variable still exists,
-- but no references to it remain, so it cannot be accessed, and will
-- eventually be garbage-collected.

t1.x = 5

print(t2.x) ==> 5
-- Since both variables now point to the same table, any changes to that table
-- are accessible through either variable.

Frames are exactly the same, except that they do not get garbage-collected because they have special properties (eg. userdata).

Also, your code is a terrible idea. If a frame already exists named "MyTestFrame" and I run this code:

local frame = CreateFrame("Frame", "MyTestFrame")

I want a new frame object, not some random frame object from another addon that happens to have the same global name.

Also, your code does not take into account that global variables can contain any type of data. For example, if I try to create a frame whose global name is "ABANDON_QUEST":

local frame = CreateFrame("Button", "ABANDON_QUEST", UIParent, "UIPanelButtonTemplate")
frame:SetPoint("CENTER")
frame:SetSize(100, 100)
frame:SetText("Abandon Quest!")

... your code would set the contents of my frame variable to the string that the Blizzard UI originally assigned to the global variable ABANDON_QUEST, and the rest of my code would fail, because a string does not have :SetPoint, :SetSize, or :SetText methods.

Your code does not optimize anything. It adds complexity, adds overhead, and would make it much more difficult to identify the cause of any naming conflicts.

[Ketho]

Originally Posted by Phanx Also, your code does not take into account that global variables can contain any type of data. For example, if I try to create a frame whose global name is "ABANDON_QUEST": local frame = CreateFrame("Button", "ABANDON_QUEST", UIParent, "UIPanelButtonTemplate") frame:SetPoint("CENTER") frame:SetSize(100, 100) frame:SetText("Abandon Quest!") ... your code would set the contents of my frame variable to the string that the Blizzard UI originally assigned to the global variable ABANDON_QUEST, and the rest of my code would fail, because a string does not have :SetPoint, :SetSize, or :SetText methods.

The above code actually works. Did you instead mean this, Phanx?

local frame = CreateFrame("Button", "ABANDON_QUEST", UIParent, "UIPanelButtonTemplate")
ABANDON_QUEST:SetPoint("CENTER")
ABANDON_QUEST:SetSize(100, 100)
ABANDON_QUEST:SetText("Abandon Quest!")