What are different ways to create and work with objects in JavaScript?

JavaScript offers several patterns for creating objects, each with different trade-offs.

Object literals are the simplest: const user = { name: 'Alice', greet() { return 'Hi!' } }. Perfect for one-off objects, configuration, and data structures. Most of your objects should be literals.

Classes (ES6+) provide familiar syntax for object-oriented patterns: class User { constructor(name) { this.name = name } greet() { return 'Hi!' } }. Use new User('Alice') to create instances. Good for objects with shared behavior and when you need instanceof checks.

Factory functions are regular functions that return objects: function createUser(name) { return { name, greet() { return 'Hi!' } } }. No 'new' keyword needed. They enable private variables via closures and can return different object types based on input. More flexible than classes.

Object.create sets up prototypal inheritance directly: Object.create(proto) creates an object with proto as its prototype. Rarely used directly but useful for understanding how JavaScript inheritance works under the hood.

Builder pattern chains methods for complex object construction: new UserBuilder().name('Alice').age(30).build(). Useful when objects have many optional properties.

In practice, use literals for data and simple objects, classes when you need OOP patterns or framework requirements (React class components, etc.), and factories when you need privacy or flexible creation.