I think there is a serious problem in vocabulary. Wikipedia's definition of class ([1]) is quite reasonable, which, slightly paraphrased, reads, "A class is an

I think there is a serious problem in vocabulary. Wikipedia's definition of class ([1]) is quite reasonable, which, slightly paraphrased, reads, "A class is an extensible template for creating objects, providing initial values for state and implementations of behavior." While typically we don't use prototype objects for default state in Javascript, we always can if we choose, and they are widely used for providing behavior. And both "extensible" and "template" fit well. So by this definitions, prototypes really are classes. But almost everyone who comes to Javascript from a class-based language brings a number of additional preconceptions. I don't know the Ruby community well enough to know if your descriptions are accurate, but I know that many of those coming from Java or C# backgrounds expect classes to be (1) distinct creatures from objects (and those who know much about the reflection class Class understand that the objects of that class are objects and not the classes themselves), (2) design/development/compile-time abstractions separate from the run-time realities, (3) unchanging at runtime (which is obviously different from Ruby), and (4) the enforcers of access policies of instance methods. None of these things are true for Javascript prototypes. So to these people, it's easiest to explain that Javascript does not have classes. I have never implemented a serious programming language. But I understand from those who have that implementing classes and implementing prototypes can be very, very similar processes. So, while I won't stop insisting to those from other languages that Javascript doens't have classes, I do recognize that I'm talking more to their preconceptions and not to the deepest truth I know. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_(computer_programming)