Prototype-based programming
lastmod 2018-08-17created 2015-10-221 edits
Prototype-based programming is a branch of object-oriented programming that has no classes. Unlike the use of inheritance in class-based languages, the behavior of objects can be reused through a process of cloning, using an object as the original (prototype). Prototype-based programming is also called class-less, prototype-oriented, or instance-based programming.
Self, the original prototype-based programming language, was developed by David Ungar and Randall Smith. Class-less programming has become quite popular recently; it has been adopted in JavaScript and in Squeak with the Morphic framework, as well as in Cecil, NewtonScript, Io, MOO, REBOL, Kevo, and others.