How To Create A Data Object In Javascript

JavaScript Objects

Real Life Objects, Properties, and Methods

In real life, a car is an object.

A car has properties like weight and color, and methods like start and stop:

Object	Properties	Methods
	car.name = Fiat car.model = 500 car.weight = 850kg car.color = white	car.start() car.drive() car.brake() car.stop()

Object

Properties

Methods

car.name = Fiat

car.model = 500

car.weight = 850kg

car.color = white

car.start()

car.drive()

car.brake()

car.stop()

All cars have the same properties, but the property values differ from car to car.

All cars have the same methods, but the methods are performed at different times.

JavaScript Objects

You have already learned that JavaScript variables are containers for data values.

This code assigns a simple value (Fiat) to a variable named car:

Objects are variables too. But objects can contain many values.

This code assigns many values (Fiat, 500, white) to a variable named car:

The values are written as name:value pairs (name and value separated by a colon).

It is a common practice to declare objects with the const keyword.

Learn more about using const with objects in the chapter: JS Const.

Object Definition

You define (and create) a JavaScript object with an object literal:

Example

const person = {firstName:"John", lastName:"Doe", age:50, eyeColor:"blue"};

Try it Yourself »

Spaces and line breaks are not important. An object definition can span multiple lines:

Example

const person = {
firstName: "John",
lastName: "Doe",
age: 50,
eyeColor: "blue"
};

Try it Yourself »

Object Properties

The name:values pairs in JavaScript objects are called properties:

Property	Property Value
firstName	John
lastName	Doe
age	50
eyeColor	blue

Accessing Object Properties

You can access object properties in two ways:

objectName["propertyName"]

JavaScript objects are containers for named values called properties.

Object Methods

Objects can also have methods.

Methods are actions that can be performed on objects.

Methods are stored in properties as function definitions.

Property	Property Value
firstName	John
lastName	Doe
age	50
eyeColor	blue
fullName	function() {return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;}

A method is a function stored as a property.

Example

const person = {
firstName: "John",
lastName : "Doe",
id : 5566,
fullName : function() {
return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
}
};

The this Keyword

In a function definition, this refers to the "owner" of the function.

In the example above, this is the person object that "owns" the fullName function.

In other words, this.firstName means the firstName property of this object.

Read more about the this keyword at JS this Keyword.

Accessing Object Methods

You access an object method with the following syntax:

If you access a method without the () parentheses, it will return the function definition:

Do Not Declare Strings, Numbers, and Booleans as Objects!

When a JavaScript variable is declared with the keyword "new", the variable is created as an object:

x = new String();        // Declares x as a String object
y = new Number();        // Declares y as a Number object
z = new Boolean();       // Declares z as a Boolean object

Avoid String, Number, and Boolean objects. They complicate your code and slow down execution speed.

You will learn more about objects later in this tutorial.