JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 6th Edition

Name

Object.getPrototypeOf() — return the prototype of an object

Availability

ECMAScript 5

Synopsis

Object.getPrototypeOf(o)

Arguments

o

An object.

Returns

The prototype object of o.

Description

Object.getPrototypeOf() returns the prototype of its argument. Note that this is a global function, and you must pass an object to it. It is not a method that is invoked on an object.

Example

var p = {};                  // An ordinary object 
Object.getPrototypeOf(p)     // => Object.prototype
var o = Object.create(p)     // An object that inherits from p     
Object.getPrototypeOf(o)     // => p

See Also

Object.create(); Chapter 6