Introducing JavaScript objects

In JavaScript, most things are objects, from core JavaScript features like strings and arrays to the browser APIs built on top of JavaScript. You can even create your own objects to encapsulate related functions and variables into efficient packages, and act as handy data containers. The object-oriented nature of JavaScript is important to understand if you want to go further with your knowledge of the language, therefore we've provided this module to help you. Here we teach object theory and syntax in detail, then look at how to create your own objects.

Prerequisites

Before starting this module, you should have some familiarity with HTML and CSS. You are advised to work through the Introduction to HTML and Introduction to CSS modules before starting on JavaScript.

You should also have some familiarity with JavaScript basics before looking at JavaScript objects in detail. Before attempting this module, work through JavaScript first steps and JavaScript building blocks.

Guides

Object basics

In the first article looking at JavaScript objects, we'll look at fundamental JavaScript object syntax, and revisit some JavaScript features we've already looked at earlier on in the course, reiterating the fact that many of the features you've already dealt with are in fact objects.

Object-oriented JavaScript for beginners

With the basics out of the way, we'll now focus on object-oriented JavaScript (OOJS) — this article presents a basic view of object-oriented programming (OOP) theory, then explores how JavaScript emulates object classes via constructor functions, and how to create object instances.

Object prototypes

Prototypes are the mechanism by which JavaScript objects inherit features from one another, and they work differently to inheritance mechanisms in classical object-oriented programming languages. In this article we explore that difference, explain how prototype chains work, and look at how the prototype property can be used to add methods to existing constructors.

Inheritance in JavaScript

With most of the gory details of OOJS now explained, this article shows how to create "child" object classes (constructors) that inherit features from their "parent" classes. In addition, we present some advice on when and where you might use OOJS.

Working with JSON data

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a standard format for representing structured data as JavaScript objects, which is commonly used for representing and transmitting data on web sites (i.e. sending some data from the server to the client, so it can be displayed on a web page). You'll come across it quite often, so in this article we give you all you need to work with JSON using JavaScript, including accessing data items in a JSON object and writing your own JSON.

Object building practice

In previous articles we looked at all the essential JavaScript object theory and syntax details, giving you a solid base to start from. In this article we dive into a practical exercise, giving you some more practice in building custom JavaScript objects, which produce something fun and colorful — some colored bouncing balls.

Assessments

Adding features to our bouncing balls demo

In this assessment, you are expected to use the bouncing balls demo from the previous article as a starting point, and add some new and interesting features to it.