Single integer as key in firebase (Firebase array behavior)

Question

If I insert data into node/a/0 in firebase.

the result will treat a is an array a[0].

The same way, if I set my data in

Answer 1

I've encountered the same problem, but actually wanted to have a numeric key array in Swift ([Int:AnyObject]). I've written this function to make sure to always have an array (without null values):

func forceArray(from: Any?) -> [Int:AnyObject] {        
    var returnArray = [Int:AnyObject]()

    if let array = from as? [String:AnyObject] {
        for (key, value) in array {
            if let key = Int(key) {
                returnArray[key] = value
            }
        }
        return returnArray
    }

    if let array = from as? [AnyObject] {
        for (key, value) in array.enumerated() {
            if !(value is NSNull) {
                returnArray[key] = value
            }
        }
        return returnArray
    }

    return returnArray
}

Result:

["0":1, "1":2] becomes: [0:1, 1:2]

{"0":1, "6":2} becomes: [0:1, 6:2]

["0":1, "1": null, "2":2] becomes: [0:1, 2:2]

Hope this is helpful for someone!