title: Python equivalent of JavaScript's Object.create()
body: <p>What would be the Python equivalent of JavaScript's <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/create" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Object.create()</a> functionality?</p>
  
  <p>For example, in JS this is possible:</p>
  
  <pre class="lang-js prettyprint-override"><code>var s = { 'pots': 5, 'cups': 2 };
  var t = Object.create( s );
  console.log( t['pots'] );               // 5
  
  t['pots'] = 9000;
  console.log( t['pots'] );               // 9000
  console.log( t['__proto__']['pots'] );  // 5, unchanged
  
  s['pots'] = 33;
  console.log( t['pots'] );               // 9000, unchanged
  console.log( t['__proto__']['pots'] );  // 33
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The closest thing I can think of is using <a href="https://docs.python.org/3/library/copy.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">copy</a>:</p>
  
  <pre class="lang-py prettyprint-override"><code>s = { 'pots': 5, 'cups': 2 }
  t = copy.copy( s )
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It works, but it seems very wasteful to create a new copy of the reference object each time I want to inherit its properties.</p>
  
  <p>Also I'm working with simple objects of the type seen above... not class instances.</p>