The Object.getPrototypeOf() method returns the prototype (i.e. the value of the internal [[Prototype]] property) of the specified object.
Syntax
Object.getPrototypeOf(obj)Parameters
obj- The object whose prototype is to be returned.
Return value
The prototype of the given object. If there are no inherited properties, null is returned.
Examples
var proto = {};
var obj = Object.create(proto);
Object.getPrototypeOf(obj) === proto; // true
Notes
In ES5, it will throw a TypeError exception if the obj parameter isn't an object. In ES2015, the parameter will be coerced to an Object.
Object.getPrototypeOf('foo');
// TypeError: "foo" is not an object (ES5 code)
Object.getPrototypeOf('foo');
// String.prototype (ES2015 code)
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| ECMAScript 5.1 (ECMA-262) The definition of 'Object.getPrototypeOf' in that specification. |
Standard | Initial definition. |
| ECMAScript 2015 (6th Edition, ECMA-262) The definition of 'Object.getProtoypeOf' in that specification. |
Standard | |
| ECMAScript Latest Draft (ECMA-262) The definition of 'Object.getProtoypeOf' in that specification. |
Draft |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | 5 | (Yes) | 3.5 (1.9.1) | 9 | 12.10 | 5 |
| Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Edge | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Mobile | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | ? | ? | (Yes) | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Opera-specific notes
Even though older Opera versions don't support Object.getPrototypeOf() yet, Opera supports the non-standard __proto__ property since Opera 10.50.
See also
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