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Explain the differences between prototypal and classical inheritance in JavaScript.

Revati S Misra13415-May-2023

Explain the differences between prototypal and classical inheritance in JavaScript.

javascriptjavascript inheritance 
Updated on 15-May-2023
Revati S Misra

Revati S Misra

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Aryan Kumar

Aryan Kumar

15-May-2023

Prototypal and classical inheritance are two different ways of implementing inheritance in JavaScript.

  • Prototypal inheritance

In prototypal inheritance, objects are not created from classes. Instead, they are created from prototypes. A prototype is an object that contains properties and methods that can be inherited by other objects. When an object is created, it inherits the properties and methods from its prototype.

To inherit from another object, you can use the Object.create() method. The Object.create() method takes an object as its argument and creates a new object that inherits from the argument object.

For example, the following code creates a new object that inherits from the Animal object:

Code snippet

const animal = {
  name: "Dog",
  makeSound() {
    console.log("Woof!");
  }
};

const dog = Object.create(animal);

The dog object inherits the name and makeSound() properties from the animal object.

  • Classical inheritance

In classical inheritance, objects are created from classes. A class is a blueprint for creating objects. It defines the properties and methods that objects created from the class will have.

To create a new object from a class, you can use the new keyword. The new keyword creates a new object and calls the class's constructor function. The constructor function is responsible for initializing the object's properties and methods.

For example, the following code creates a new object from the Animal class:

Code snippet

class Animal {
  constructor(name) {
    this.name = name;
  }

  makeSound() {
    console.log("Woof!");
  }
}

const dog = new Animal("Dog");

The dog object inherits the name and makeSound() properties from the Animal class.

The main difference between prototypal and classical inheritance is that in prototypal inheritance, objects inherit from other objects, while in classical inheritance, objects inherit from classes.

Prototypal inheritance is the default inheritance model in JavaScript. It is more flexible and powerful than classical inheritance. However, it can be more difficult to understand and use.

Classical inheritance is a more traditional inheritance model. It is easier to understand and use than prototypal inheritance. However, it is less flexible and powerful.

In general, you should use prototypal inheritance unless you have a specific reason to use classical inheritance.

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