.getPrototypeOf()

The .getPrototypeOf() method is a static method that returns the prototype (the value of the internal [[Prototype]] property) of the specified object.

Syntax

Object.getPrototypeOf(object_name)

• object_name: The name of an object whose prototype is to be returned.

Example 1

In the following code, Object.getPrototypeOf() will return the prototype value of prototype1, obj1, and fruits:

const prototype1 = {};
const obj1 = Object.create(prototype1);
let fruits = {
  types: ['banana', 'mango', 'kiwi'],
};
console.log(Object.getPrototypeOf(prototype1));
console.log(Object.getPrototypeOf(obj1));
console.log(Object.getPrototypeOf(fruits));
console.log(Object.getPrototypeOf('hello'));

This will return the following output:

[Object: null prototype] {}
{}
[Object: null prototype] {}
{}

Note: In the example: Object.getPrototypeOf("hello"); "hello" is coerced to an Object, therefore this method returns String.prototype or {}. In ES5, if the ‘obj’ parameter isn’t an object, it will result in a TypeError exception being thrown. However, in ES2015, the parameter will undergo coercion to become an Object.

Example 2

In the following code, Object.getPrototypeOf(obj1) will return prototype1, which is the prototype of obj1:

const prototype1 = {};
const obj1 = Object.create(prototype1);
console.log(Object.getPrototypeOf(obj1) == prototype1);

This will return the following output:

true