util.inherits - alternative or workaround

Question

I am a n00b in node, and find util.inherits() very useful, except for the fact that it seems to replace the entire prototype of the original object. For instance:

Answer 1

I very much wanted the same thing and was unhappy with extend, so I created this extension to the already useful util.inherits method:

var util = require('util');

module.exports = {
    inherits : function(sub, sup, proto) {
        util.inherits(sub, sup);
        if (typeof proto !== 'undefined') {
            Object.keys(proto).forEach(function(key) {
                sub.prototype[key] = proto[key];
            });
        }
    }
};

I put this in my project's ./util/index.js and then do this to use it:

var EventEmitter = require('events').EventEmitter;
var util = require('./util');

function Foo() {
    EventEmitter.call(this);
}

util.inherits(Foo, EventEmitter, {
    bar : function(){
        console.log(this instanceof EventEmitter); // true
    }
});

Maybe I'll publish this if I find it's robust and useful more and more. I just barely implemented it myself, so I'm giving it a test run.

Let me know what you think!

NOTE: This does override methods on either of the classes with the ones defined in the proto hash at the end. Just be aware of that.