An instance of the class "String" is created by using the new operator on the String() constructor. The new object adopts the behavior of the built-in prototype object through the prototype-inheritance mechanisms.

All properties and methods of the prototype are available as if they were part of the instance.

A String object is a member of the type Object.

Cloning the built-in String object creates new String objects. This is done by calling the String constructor with the new operator being applied to an existing String object, thus:

myString = new String("a string of text");

A String object can be coerced to a string value and can be used anywhere where a string value would be expected.

Programmers familiar with object oriented techniques may prefer to use the String object while procedural language programmers may implement the same functionality with a string value instead.

This is an example of the flexibility of JavaScript in its ability to accommodate a variety of users from different backgrounds.

The prototype for the String prototype object is the Object prototype object.

In Netscape Navigator, you can traverse a string as if it were an array and access characters individually by their index position in the array. This doesn't work in MSIE.

Cross-references:

ECMA 262 edition 2 - section - 4.3.18

ECMA 262 edition 2 - section - 10.1.5

ECMA 262 edition 2 - section - 15.5

ECMA 262 edition 3 - section - 4.3.18

ECMA 262 edition 3 - section - 15.5

Wrox Instant JavaScript - page - 33