`String.fromObject` Breaks Due to Protobuf Type Shadowing Global String (will occur on upgrades)

[pyramation]

Summary

When upgrading or regenerating Protobuf bindings (e.g., after updating libpg-query-node), Protobuf types like String or BitString can shadow JavaScript built-ins, causing runtime crashes in the generated proto.js:

TypeError: Cannot set properties of undefined (setting '0')
  at String (proto.js:10726:43)

This is caused by pbjs generating a String.fromObject() method that calls the shadowed constructor instead of the global primitive converter:

String.fromObject = function(object) {
  var message = new $root.pg_query.String();
  if (object.sval != null)
    message.sval = String(object.sval); // ← calls the Protobuf wrapper, not global
  return message;
};

Why It Happens

• pbjs generates a message named String, which creates a local function that shadows the global String.
• The call String(object.sval) no longer performs a type conversion — it calls the local constructor without new, so this is undefined.
• The constructor tries to assign to this[...] and fails.

Impact

• Crashes at runtime on any .fromObject({ sval: '...' }) call.
• Will reappear after any re-generation via pbjs or updates to libpg-query-node unless patched.

---

✅ Temporary Workaround

Manually patch proto.js to assign strings directly:

-  message.sval = String(object.sval);
+  message.sval = object.sval;

Repeat this for any affected wrapper types (String, BitString, etc.).

---

🛠 Recommended Fix

• Fix upstream generation:

  • Use globalThis.String(...) for safe access.
  • Or rename wrapper types to avoid collisions (PgString, PgBitString, etc.).

• Add post-gen patch to your build or protogen script to auto-replace the problem lines.

• Track this issue across upgrades to libpg-query-node or pbjs.

---

📌 Action Item

Update the proto.js generation step to include either:

• A safe global reference (globalThis.String)
• Or a transform script to patch conflicting lines after generation