Referring to parent class properties and methods when inside a class property object.

Question

I want to settle this confusion in my mind once and for all! I am having trouble reaching some of my class properties and methods. Now, I know I could use a object literal and append all of my references with the objects name, e.i. animal., but I want to know how to handle this with an instantiated class.

Here is a quick example of my code..

function animal(){
       this.type = "Reptile";
       this.sayType = function(){
           //from my experiences "this" right here still refers to "animal"
           alert(this.type);
      };
      this.names = {
          name : "Lizard",
          sayTypeAndName : function(){
             //Now "this" refers to "names" not the "sayTypeAndName" method or the parent
             //animal. If I try to refer to "animal" like I would in an object literal 
             //and construct the class. I get an error saying the method below does 
             //not exist. HOW DO I CORRECTLY REFER TO THE PARENT CLASS PROPERTIES?
             //DO I STICK THE PARENT CLASS PROPERTIES AND METHODS INTO MY "names" object?
             animal.sayType(animal.type+" "+this.name);
          }
      };//end of names object
}//end of class

Thank you all for any help on this

Answer 1

function SomeClass() {
    var self = this;
    this.something = {
        foo: function() {
            self; // <= points to instance of SomeClass
        };
    };
}