What is the difference between composition and inheritance in JavaScript?

What is the difference between composition and inheritance in JavaScript?

Composition and inheritance are two fundamental concepts in JavaScript for code reuse. Inheritance allows a class to inherit properties and methods from another class, while composition involves building complex objects by combining simpler ones.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! For inheritance, you might have a Vehicle class and a Car class that extends it. For composition, you could have a Car object that includes an Engine object and a Wheel object, combining their functionalities.

Which one is generally preferred and why?

Composition is often preferred because it promotes flexibility and reusability. It allows you to change behaviors at runtime and avoids the issues of deep inheritance hierarchies.

Are there any downsides to using composition?

Yes, while composition offers flexibility, it can lead to more complex code structures and may require more boilerplate code to set up relationships between objects.