Prototype inheritance, also known as prototypal inheritance, is a type of object-oriented programming in JavaScript that behaves differently than traditional classical inheritance found in other programming languages.
In JavaScript, objects can inherit properties from other objects, through a process called ‘prototyping’. Each object has an internal property, known as a ‘prototype’, which links it to another object. When a reference is made to a property or method of an object, JavaScript will first search the object and then, if it is not found, it will search the prototype, and so on up the prototype chain until it is found or until reaching an object with a null prototype.
This process allows objects to share and reuse code, while still being able to override properties and methods when needed. This model is more flexible and less rigid than classical inheritance, making it more suitable to JavaScript’s dynamic nature.
