I create a class with a function like this var Obj=function(){this.children=[];this.parent=null;}//a base class Obj.prototype.index=function(child){ // the index of current obj if(arguments.length==0){ return this.parent?this.parent.index(this):0; } // the index of a child matchs specific obj [to be override] return -1; } basically it is just an overload function composed of index() and index(child). Then I create a sub class,SubObj or whatever, inherits from Obj SubObj.prototype.prototype=Obj; Now, it's time to override the index(child) function,however, index() is also in the function an I don't want to overwrite it too. One solution is to write like this var Obj=function(){this.children=[];this.parent=null;}//a base class Obj.prototype.index=function(child){ // the index of current obj if(arguments.length==0){ return this.parent?this.parent.index(this):0; } // the index of a child matchs specific obj [to be override] return this._index(this); } Obj.prototype._index=function(this){ return -1; } SubObj.prototype._index=function(this){/* overwriteing */} But this will easily mislead other coders as _index(child) should be both private(should not be used except index() function) and public(is an overload function of index(),which is public) you guys have better idea?