Should I be using object literals or constructor functions?

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If you don’t have behaviour associated with an object (i.e. if the object is just a container for data/state), I would use an object literal.

var data = {
    foo: 42,
    bar: 43
};

Apply the KISS principle. If you don’t need anything beyond a simple container of data, go with a simple literal.

If you want to add behaviour to your object, you can go with a constructor and add methods to the object during construction or give your class a prototype.

function MyData(foo, bar) {
    this.foo = foo;
    this.bar = bar;

    this.verify = function () {
        return this.foo === this.bar;
    };
}

// or:
MyData.prototype.verify = function () {
    return this.foo === this.bar;
};

A class like this also acts like a schema for your data object: You now have some sort of contract (through the constructor) what properties the object initializes/contains. A free literal is just an amorphous blob of data.

You might as well have an external verify function that acts on a plain old data object:

var data = {
    foo: 42,
    bar: 43
};

function verify(data) {
    return data.foo === data.bar;
}

However, this is not favorable with regards to encapsulation: Ideally, all the data + behaviour associated with an entity should live together.

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