When do you use "extends Reference"?

+1 vote

I just learned about inheritance in Godot, but I saw some people extending their scripts from the Reference script. I know that the Reference script extends from Node, and Resource script extends from Reference. I just don't know when and why to use Reference scripts.

Godot version 3.2.3
in Engine by (24 points)

1 Answer

+2 votes
Best answer

extends Reference can be useful for custom data types where you don't need any fancy functionality from a Godot node. It should be preferred over extends Object as Reference will automatically manage its memory using reference counting.

If you use extends Object, you have to manage memory manually by setting the variable to null after you're done dealing with it. Otherwise, you'll leak memory.

by (12,835 points)
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