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Every object in JavaScript is an instance of the object Object and therefore inherits all its properties and methods.

Custom Objects

The Class

JavaScript is a prototype-based language which contains no class statement, such as is found in C++ or Java. This is sometimes confusing for programmers accustomed to languages with a class statement. Instead, JavaScript uses functions as classes. Defining a class is as easy as defining a function. In the example below we define a new class called Person.

function Person() { }

The Object (Class Instance)

To create a new instance of an object obj we use the statement new obj, assigning the result (which is of type obj) to a variable to access it later.

In the example below we define a class named Person and we create two instances (person1 and person2).

function Person() { }
var person1 = new Person();
var person2 = new Person();

Please also see Object.create for a new and alternative instantiation method.

The Constructor

The constructor is called at the moment of instantiation (the moment when the object instance is created). The constructor is a method of the class. In JavaScript, the function serves as the constructor of the object; therefore, there is no need to explicitly define a constructor method. Every action declared in the class gets executed at the time of instantiation.

The constructor is used to set the object's properties or to call methods to prepare the object for use. Adding class methods and their definitions occurs using a different syntax described later in this article.

In the example below, the constructor of the class Person displays an alert when a Person is instantiated.

function Person() {
  alert('Person instantiated');
}

var person1 = new Person();
var person2 = new Person();

The Property (object attribute)

Properties are variables contained in the class; every instance of the object has those properties. Properties should be set in the prototype property of the class (function) so that inheritance works correctly.

Working with properties from within the class is done by the keyword this, which refers to the current object. Accessing (reading or writing) a property outside of the class is done with the syntax: InstanceName.Property; this is the same syntax used by C++, Java, and a number of other languages. (Inside the class the syntax this.Property is used to get or set the property's value.)

In the example below we define the gender property for the Person class and we define it at instantiation.

function Person(gender) {
  this.gender = gender;
  alert('Person instantiated');
}

Person.prototype.gender = '';

var person1 = new Person('Male');
var person2 = new Person('Female');

//display the person1 gender
alert('person1 is a ' + person1.gender); // person1 is a Male

The methods

Methods follow the same logic as properties; the difference is that they are functions and they are defined as functions. Calling a method is similar to accessing a property, but you add () at the end of the method name, possibly with arguments. To define a method, assign a function to a named property of the class's prototype property; the name that the function is assigned to is the name that the method is called by on the object.

In the example below we define and use the method sayHello() for the Person class.

function Person(gender) {
  this.gender = gender;
}

Person.prototype.gender = '';

Person.prototype.sayHello = function () {
  alert ('hello');
};

var person1 = new Person('Male');
var person2 = new Person('Female');

// call the Person sayHello method.
person1.sayHello(); // hello

In JavaScript methods are regular function objects that are bound to a class/object as a property which means they can be invoked "out of the context". Consider the following example code:

function Person(gender) {
  this.gender = gender;
}

Person.prototype.gender = '';

Person.prototype.sayGender = function () {
  alert(this.gender);
};

var person1 = new Person('Male');
var genderTeller = person1.sayGender;

person1.sayGender(); // alerts 'Male'
genderTeller(); // alerts undefined
alert(genderTeller === person1.sayGender); // alerts true
alert(genderTeller === Person.prototype.sayGender); // alerts true

This example demonstrates many concepts at once. It shows that there are no "per-object methods" in JavaScript since all references to the method point to the exact same function, the one we have defined in the first place on the prototype. JavaScript "binds" the current "object context" to the special "this" variable when a function is invoked as a method(or property to be exact) of an object. This is equal to calling the function object's "call" method as follows:

genderTeller.call(person1); //alerts 'Male'

See more about this on Function.call and Function.apply

Inheritance

Inheritance is a way to create a class as a specialized version of one or more classes (JavaScript only supports single class inheritance). The specialized class is commonly called the child, and the other class is commonly called the parent. In JavaScript you do this by assigning an instance of the parent class to the child class, and then specializing it. In modern browsers you can also use Object.create to implement inheritance.

JavaScript does not detect the child class prototype.constructor see Core JavaScript 1.5 Reference:Global Objects:Object:prototype property, so we must state that manually.

In the example below, we define the class Student as a child class of Person. Then we redefine the sayHello() method and add the sayGoodBye() method.

// define the Person Class
function Person() {}

Person.prototype.walk = function(){
  alert ('I am walking!');
};
Person.prototype.sayHello = function(){
  alert ('hello');
};

// define the Student class
function Student() {
  // Call the parent constructor
  Person.call(this);
};

// inherit Person
Student.prototype = new Person();

// correct the constructor pointer because it points to Person
Student.prototype.constructor = Student;
 
// replace the sayHello method
Student.prototype.sayHello = function(){
  alert('hi, I am a student');
};

// add sayGoodBye method
Student.prototype.sayGoodBye = function(){
  alert('goodBye');
};

var student1 = new Student();
student1.sayHello();
student1.walk();
student1.sayGoodBye();

// check inheritance
alert(student1 instanceof Person); // true 
alert(student1 instanceof Student); // true

Using Object.create the inheritance line would instead be:

Student.prototype = Object.create(Person.prototype);

Encapsulation

In the previous example, Student does not need to know how the Person class's walk() method is implemented, but still can use that method; the Student class doesn't need to explicitly define that method unless we want to change it. This is called encapsulation, by which every class inherits the methods of its parent and only needs to define things it wishes to change.

Abstraction

Abstraction is a mechanism that permits modeling the current part of the working problem. This can be achieved by inheritance (specialization), or composition. JavaScript achieves specialization by inheritance, and composition by letting instances of classes be the values of attributes of other objects.

The JavaScript Function class inherits from the Object class (this demonstrates specialization of the model). and the Function.prototype property is an instance of Object (this demonstrates composition)

var foo = function(){};
alert( 'foo is a Function: ' + (foo instanceof Function) );
alert( 'foo.prototype is an Object: ' + (foo.prototype instanceof Object) );

Polymorphism

Just like all methods and properties are defined inside the prototype property, different classes can define methods with the same name; methods are scoped to the class in which they're defined. This is only true when the two classes do not hold a parent-child relation (when one does not inherit from the other in a chain of inheritance).

Notes

The techniques presented in this article to implement object-oriented programming are not the only ones that can be used in JavaScript, which is very flexible in terms of how object-oriented programming can be performed.

Similarly, the techniques shown here do not use any language hacks, nor do they mimic other languages' object theory implementations.

There are other techniques that make even more advanced object-oriented programming in JavaScript, but those are beyond the scope of this introductory article.

References

1. Mozilla. "Core JavaScript 1.5 Guide", https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide
2. Wikipedia. "Object-oriented programming", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-...ed_programming