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In the world of JavaScript, one of the fundamental concepts you’ll encounter is the use of constructor functions and prototypes. These tools allow you to create custom objects and leverage inheritance, which are essential for building robust and scalable applications.
In this article, we’ll dive into the mechanics of constructor functions and prototypes, and explore how you can utilize their power to write more efficient and organized code.
Constructor Functions: Building Custom Objects
At the core of object creation in JavaScript lies the constructor function. A constructor function is a regular function, but with a specific purpose — to create new objects. When you call a constructor function with the new
keyword, it returns a new object with the properties and methods defined within the function.
Here’s a simple example of a constructor function that creates a Person
object:
function Person(name, age) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
this.greet = function() {
console.log(`Hello, my name is ${this.name} and I'm ${this.age} years old.`);
};
}
const john = new…