Proto-list Utility

The `proto-list` package provides a specialized data structure, `ProtoList`, which manages a collection of objects linked via their prototype chain. Unlike a standard array or object merge utility, `ProtoList` leverages JavaScript's inherent prototype inheritance mechanism to resolve property lookups, iterating through its internal list of objects in a prioritized manner. This design makes it particularly suitable for managing layered configuration settings, where values can be inherited from parent objects or overridden by more specific ones. It is notably used within `npm`'s configuration system to handle various levels of configuration files. The current stable version, 1.2.4, was published over a decade ago, indicating a highly mature and stable library with a very low release cadence, primarily for maintenance rather than feature expansion. Its core differentiator is its direct and explicit use of the prototype chain as the primary mechanism for list traversal and property resolution.