Creating Objects (JavaScript)

There are a number of ways you can create your own objects in JavaScript. You can directly instantiate an Object Object and then add your own properties and methods. Or you can use object literal notation to define your object. You can also use a constructor function to define an object. For more information about using constructor functions, see Using Constructors to Define Types.

Example

The following code shows how to instantiate an object and add some properties. In this case only the pasta object has the grain, width, and shape properties.

const pasta = new Object();  
pasta.grain = "wheat";  
pasta.width = 0.5;  
pasta.shape = "round";  
pasta.getShape = function() {   
    return this.shape;   
};  
document.write(pasta.grain);  
document.write("<br/>");  
document.write(pasta.getShape());  

// Output:  
// wheat  
// round  

Object literals

You can also use object literal notation when you want to create only one instance of an object. The following code shows how to instantiate an object by using object literal notation.

const pasta = {  
    grain: "wheat",  
    width: 0.5,  
    shape: "round"  
};  

You can also use an object literal inside a constructor.

In Microsoft Edge, you can use shorthand syntax to create an object literal.

const key = 'a';  
const value = 5;  

// Older version  
const obj1 = {  
    key: key,  
    value: value  
};  

// Edge mode  
const obj2 = {key, value};  

console.log(obj2);  

// Output:  
// [object Object] {key: "a", value: 5}  

The following example shows the use of shorthand syntax to define methods in object literals.

// Older versions  
const obj = {  
    method1: function() {},  
    method2: function() {}  
};  

// Edge mode  
const obj = {  
    method1() {},  
    method2() {}  
};  

You can also set property names dynamically in object literals in Microsoft Edge. The following code example creates a property name for an object dynamically using the set syntax.

const propName = "prop_42";  

const obj = {  
    value: 0,  
    set [propName](v) {  
        this.value = v;  
    }  
}  

console.log(obj.value);  
// Runs the setter property.  
obj.prop_42 = 777;  
console.log(obj.value);  

// Output:  
// 0  
// 777  

The following code example creates a property name for an object dynamically using the get syntax.

const propName = "prop_42";  

const obj = {  
    get [propName]() {  
        return 777;  
    }  
}  

console.log(obj.prop_42);  

// Output:  
// 777  

The following code example creates a computed property using arrow function syntax to append 42 to the property name.

const obj = {  
    [ 'prop_' + (() => 42)() ]: 42  
};