Building Classes in JavaScript: Function Constructors vs. ES6 Classes

While jQuery is a powerful library for DOM manipulation, it wasn't designed for pure object-oriented programming. Javascript itself, however, has built-in features for OOP.

The Question:

The question asks if there's a more suitable approach for creating object-oriented classes compared to using jQuery's functionalities.

Alternative Approaches:

Here are some ways to achieve OOP in Javascript without relying on jQuery:

function Person(name, age) {
  this.name = name;
  this.age = age;
}

Person.prototype.greet = function() {
  console.log("Hello, my name is " + this.name);
};

const person1 = new Person("John", 30);
person1.greet(); // Output: Hello, my name is John

In this example:

• We define a Person function that acts as the constructor.
• Inside the constructor, we set the name and age properties on the new object (this).
• We define a greet method on the Person.prototype object. This method is accessible by all instances of Person.
• We create a new person object (person1) using the new keyword and call the greet method.

Using ES6 Classes:

class Person {
  constructor(name, age) {
    this.name = name;
    this.age = age;
  }

  greet() {
    console.log("Hello, my name is " + this.name);
  }
}

const person2 = new Person("Jane", 25);
person2.greet(); // Output: Hello, my name is Jane

This example achieves the same functionality using an ES6 class:

• We define a Person class with a constructor that takes name and age arguments.
• Inside the constructor, similar to the previous example, we set the properties.
• We define a greet method directly within the class.

1. Using Object.create():

This method allows you to create a new object using an existing object as a prototype. It's useful for situations where you want to create objects with slight variations from an existing blueprint.

Here's an example:

const personPrototype = {
  greet() {
    console.log("Hello!");
  }
};

const student = Object.create(personPrototype);
student.name = "Alice";

student.greet(); // Output: Hello!

• We define a personPrototype object with a greet method.
• We use Object.create to create a new object (student) that uses personPrototype as its prototype.
• We assign a name property specific to the student object.
• Calling greet on student works because it inherits the method from the prototype.

1. Revealing Module Pattern (Module Pattern):

This pattern is a way to encapsulate properties and methods within a function closure. It provides a mechanism for controlled exposure of functionalities within an object-like structure.

function createPerson(name, age) {
  let privateAge = age;

  function greet() {
    console.log("Hello, my name is " + name);
  }

  function getAge() {
    return privateAge;
  }

  return {
    greet,
    getAge // Only exposing these methods publicly
  };
}

const person = createPerson("Bob", 40);
person.greet(); // Output: Hello, my name is Bob
// person.privateAge; // Not accessible from outside

console.log(person.getAge()); // Output: 40 (using the exposed method)

• We define a createPerson function that creates a closure around internal variables (privateAge) and methods (greet).
• The function returns an object with only the desired methods (greet and getAge) exposed publicly.