How to get unique values in an array

Question

How can I get a list of unique values in an array? Do I always have to use a second array or is there something similar to java\'s hashmap in JavaScript?

I am going

Answer 1

Fast, compact, no nested loops, works with any object not just strings and numbers, takes a predicate, and only 5 lines of code!!

function findUnique(arr, predicate) {
  var found = {};
  arr.forEach(d => {
    found[predicate(d)] = d;
  });
  return Object.keys(found).map(key => found[key]); 
}

Example: To find unique items by type:

var things = [
  { name: 'charm', type: 'quark'},
  { name: 'strange', type: 'quark'},
  { name: 'proton', type: 'boson'},
];

var result = findUnique(things, d => d.type);
//  [
//    { name: 'charm', type: 'quark'},
//    { name: 'proton', type: 'boson'}
//  ] 

If you want it to find the first unique item instead of the last add a found.hasOwnPropery() check in there.

Answer 2

Here is an approach with customizable equals function which can be used for primitives as well as for custom objects:

Array.prototype.pushUnique = function(element, equalsPredicate = (l, r) => l == r) {
    let res = !this.find(item => equalsPredicate(item, element))
    if(res){
        this.push(element)
    }
    return res
}

usage:

//with custom equals for objects
myArrayWithObjects.pushUnique(myObject, (left, right) => left.id == right.id)

//with default equals for primitives
myArrayWithPrimitives.pushUnique(somePrimitive)