Javascript HashTable use Object key

Question

I want to create a hash table with Object keys that are not converted into String.

Some thing like this:

var object1 = new Object();
var o         


        

Answer 1

Inspired by @florian, here's a way where the id doesn't need JSON.stringify:

'use strict';

module.exports = HashTable;

function HashTable () {
  this.index = [];
  this.table = [];
}

HashTable.prototype = {

  constructor: HashTable,

  set: function (id, key, value) {
    var index = this.index.indexOf(id);
    if (index === -1) {
      index = this.index.length;
      this.index.push(id);
      this.table[index] = {};
    }
    this.table[index][key] = value;
  },

  get: function (id, key) {
    var index = this.index.indexOf(id);
    if (index === -1) {
      return undefined;
    }
    return this.table[index][key];
  }

};

Answer 2

Here is a proposal:

function HashTable() {
    this.hashes = {};
}

HashTable.prototype = {
    constructor: HashTable,

    put: function( key, value ) {
        this.hashes[ JSON.stringify( key ) ] = value;
    },

    get: function( key ) {
        return this.hashes[ JSON.stringify( key ) ];
    }
};

The API is exactly as shown in your question.

You can't play with the reference in js however (so two empty objects will look like the same to the hashtable), because you have no way to get it. See this answer for more details: How to get javascript object references or reference count?

Jsfiddle demo: http://jsfiddle.net/HKz3e/

However, for the unique side of things, you could play with the original objects, like in this way:

function HashTable() {
    this.hashes = {},
    this.id = 0;
}

HashTable.prototype = {
    constructor: HashTable,

    put: function( obj, value ) {
        obj.id = this.id;
        this.hashes[ this.id ] = value;
        this.id++;
    },

    get: function( obj ) {
        return this.hashes[ obj.id ];
    }
};

Jsfiddle demo: http://jsfiddle.net/HKz3e/2/

This means that your objects need to have a property named id that you won't use elsewhere. If you want to have this property as non-enumerable, I suggest you take a look at defineProperty (it's not cross-browser however, even with ES5-Shim, it doesn't work in IE7).

It also means you are limited on the number of items you can store in this hashtable. Limited to 253, that is.

And now, the "it's not going to work anywhere" solution: use ES6 WeakMaps. They are done exactly for this purpose: having objects as keys. I suggest you read MDN for more information: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/WeakMap

It slightly differs from your API though (it's set and not put):

var myMap = new WeakMap(),
    object1 = {},
    object2 = {};

myMap.set( object1, 'value1' );
myMap.set( object2, 'value2' );

console.log( myMap.get( object1 ) ); // "value1"
console.log( myMap.get( object2 ) ); // "value2"

Jsfiddle demo with a weakmap shim: http://jsfiddle.net/Ralt/HKz3e/9/

However, weakmaps are implemented in FF and Chrome (only if you enable the "Experimental javascript features" flag in chrome however). There are shims available, like this one: https://gist.github.com/1269991. Use at your own risk.

You can also use Maps, they may more suit your needs, since you also need to store primitive values (strings) as keys. Doc, Shim.

Answer 3

Just use the strict equality operator when looking up the object: ===

var objects = [];
objects.push(object1);
objects.push(object2);

objects[0] === object1; // true
objects[1] === object1; // false

The implementation will depend on how you store the objects in the HashTable class.

Answer 4

Here is a simple Map implementation that will work with any type of key, including object references, and it will not mutate the key in any way:

function Map() {
    var keys = [], values = [];

    return {
        put: function (key, value) {
            var index = keys.indexOf(key);
            if(index == -1) {
                keys.push(key);
                values.push(value);
            }
            else {
                values[index] = value;
            }
        },
        get: function (key) {
            return values[keys.indexOf(key)];
        }
    };
}

While this yields the same functionality as a hash table, it's not actually implemented using a hash function since it iterates over arrays and has a worst case performance of O(n). However, for the vast majority of sensible use cases this shouldn't be a problem at all. The indexOf function is implemented by the JavaScript engine and is highly optimized.

Answer 5

Here is a proposal, combining @Florian's solution with @Laurent's.

function HashTable() {
    this.hashes = [];
}

HashTable.prototype = {
    constructor: HashTable,

    put: function( key, value ) {
        this.hashes.push({
            key: key,
            value: value
        });
    },

    get: function( key ) {
        for( var i = 0; i < this.hashes.length; i++ ){
            if(this.hashes[i].key == key){
                return this.hashes[i].value;
            }
        }
    }
};

It wont change your object in any way and it doesn't rely on JSON.stringify.