What are some examples of prototypal inheritance in JavaScript?

What are some examples of prototypal inheritance in JavaScript?

Prototypal inheritance allows objects to inherit properties and methods from other objects. For example, if you have a Person object with a method greet, you can create a Student object that inherits from Person and uses the greet method.

Can you show me a code example?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

const Person = {
    greet: function() {
        console.log('Hello!');
    }
};

const Student = Object.create(Person);
Student.study = function() {
    console.log('Studying...');
};

Student.greet(); // Outputs: Hello!
Student.study(); // Outputs: Studying...

What are the advantages of using prototypal inheritance?

Prototypal inheritance is more memory efficient since methods are shared among instances. It also allows for dynamic inheritance, meaning you can add or modify properties and methods at runtime.

Are there any drawbacks to using it?

Yes, one drawback is that it can lead to confusion if not properly understood, especially for developers coming from class-based languages. Additionally, debugging can be more complex due to the dynamic nature of prototypes.