What Is Object-Oriented JavaScript?

OOPL: Object-oriented programming language. It's a fancy way of telling you you can do OOP in JavaScript. That's it! OOP is a method of writing code that allows you to write new code that acts like other code you've already written. It's a big deal because it lets you reuse your code, which means less time spent writing new stuff and more time spent doing fun things like watching Netflix or binge-drinking on a Monday night. Object-oriented JavaScript lets you write in an OOP context using JavaScript as the primary language. It doesn't use another language like Ruby or Python to help it with its OOP features. JavaScript is indeed a classless OOPL. That means you can build complex structures in your code. It just means that the facilities will be different than what you're used to in other languages! In JavaScript, functions are used to represent classes. This means that when you want to create an object, you make a function and give it properties and methods using prototype chains. You can then call this function whenever you want to create an instance of your object! This sounds not very easy, but it's pretty simple: think of the function as the blueprint for your object and each instance as a copy of that blueprint with all of its customizations added. Objects in JavaScript are a lot like people. They're born, then they grow up and have their kids. In most object-oriented languages, objects are derived from a class. Vehicle, a course in most other languages, is an object in object-oriented JavaScript. The other derivatives - such as car, truck and tractor - are prototypes of the object vehicle that are created by calling the vehicle method. Unlike humans, JavaScript objects don't have to take years of hard work and dedication before they start having kids: they can get right to it immediately!