Every class which is not a built-in type inherits from this class.
You can construct Objects from scripting languages, using [code]Object.new()[/code] in GDScript, [code]new Object[/code] 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 [method 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 [method _get_property_list] and handled in [method _get] and [method _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 [method _notification].
[b]Note:[/b] Unlike references to a [Reference], references to an Object stored in a variable can become invalid without warning. Therefore, it's recommended to use [Reference] for data classes instead of [Object].
[b]Note:[/b] Due to a bug, you can't create a "plain" Object using [code]Object.new()[/code]. Instead, use [code]ClassDB.instance("Object")[/code]. This bug only applies to Object itself, not any of its descendents like [Reference].
<linktitle="When and how to avoid using nodes for everything">https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.4/getting_started/workflow/best_practices/node_alternatives.html</link>
<linktitle="Advanced exports using _get_property_list()">https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.4/getting_started/scripting/gdscript/gdscript_exports.html#advanced-exports</link>
Each property's [Dictionary] must contain at least [code]name: String[/code] and [code]type: int[/code] (see [enum Variant.Type]) entries. Optionally, it can also include [code]hint: int[/code] (see [enum PropertyHint]), [code]hint_string: String[/code], and [code]usage: int[/code] (see [enum PropertyUsageFlags]).
Called whenever the object receives a notification, which is identified in [code]what[/code] by a constant. The base [Object] has two constants [constant NOTIFICATION_POSTINITIALIZE] and [constant NOTIFICATION_PREDELETE], but subclasses such as [Node] define a lot more notifications which are also received by this method.
Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of [method to_string], and thus the object's representation where it is converted to a string, e.g. with [code]print(obj)[/code].
Adds a user-defined [code]signal[/code]. Arguments are optional, but can be added as an [Array] of dictionaries, each containing [code]name: String[/code] and [code]type: int[/code] (see [enum Variant.Type]) entries.
Calls the [code]method[/code] 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:
[b]Note:[/b] In C#, the method name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined methods where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase).
Calls the [code]method[/code] on the object during idle time. This method supports a variable number of arguments, so parameters are passed as a comma separated list. Example:
[b]Note:[/b] In C#, the method name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined methods where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase).
Calls the [code]method[/code] on the object and returns the result. Contrarily to [method call], this method does not support a variable number of arguments but expects all parameters to be via a single [Array].
Connects a [code]signal[/code] to a [code]method[/code] on a [code]target[/code] object. Pass optional [code]binds[/code] to the call as an [Array] of parameters. These parameters will be passed to the method after any parameter used in the call to [method emit_signal]. Use [code]flags[/code] to set deferred or one-shot connections. See [enum ConnectFlags] constants.
A [code]signal[/code] can only be connected once to a [code]method[/code]. It will throw an error if already connected, unless the signal was connected with [constant CONNECT_REFERENCE_COUNTED]. To avoid this, first, use [method is_connected] to check for existing connections.
If you try to disconnect a connection that does not exist, the method will throw an error. Use [method is_connected] to ensure that the connection exists.
Emits the given [code]signal[/code]. 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:
Deletes the object from memory immediately. For [Node]s, you may want to use [method Node.queue_free] to queue the node for safe deletion at the end of the current frame.
[b]Important:[/b] If you have a variable pointing to an object, it will [i]not[/i] be assigned to [code]null[/code] once the object is freed. Instead, it will point to a [i]previously freed instance[/i] and you should validate it with [method @GDScript.is_instance_valid] before attempting to call its methods or access its properties.
[b]Note:[/b] In C#, the property name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined properties where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase).
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 ([code]:[/code]) to access nested properties. Examples: [code]"position:x"[/code] or [code]"material:next_pass:blend_mode"[/code].
Each property's [Dictionary] contain at least [code]name: String[/code] and [code]type: int[/code] (see [enum Variant.Type]) entries. Optionally, it can also include [code]hint: int[/code] (see [enum PropertyHint]), [code]hint_string: String[/code], and [code]usage: int[/code] (see [enum PropertyUsageFlags]).
Returns [code]true[/code] if the given user-defined [code]signal[/code] exists. Only signals added using [method add_user_signal] are taken into account.
Send a given notification to the object, which will also trigger a call to the [method _notification] method of all classes that the object inherits from.
If [code]reversed[/code] is [code]true[/code], [method _notification] is called first on the object's own class, and then up to its successive parent classes. If [code]reversed[/code] is [code]false[/code], [method _notification] is called first on the highest ancestor ([Object] itself), and then down to its successive inheriting classes.
[b]Note:[/b] In C#, the property name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined properties where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase).
Assigns a new value to the given property, after the current frame's physics step. This is equivalent to calling [method set] via [method call_deferred], i.e. [code]call_deferred("set", property, value)[/code].
[b]Note:[/b] In C#, the property name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined properties where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase).
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 ([code]:[/code]) to access nested properties. Example:
Adds, changes or removes a given entry in the object's metadata. Metadata are serialized and can take any [Variant] value.
To remove a given entry from the object's metadata, use [method remove_meta]. Metadata is also removed if its value is set to [code]null[/code]. This means you can also use [code]set_meta("name", null)[/code] to remove metadata for [code]"name"[/code].
If the object already had a script, the previous script instance will be freed and its variables and state will be lost. The new script's [method _init] method will be called.
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 [code]message[/code] unchanged. See [method set_message_translation].
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.
