Map like Java in JavaScript

Question

Is there any way to create Map data structure like java in java script?

Answer 1

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/368280/javascript-hashmap-equivalent

Answer 2

Yes, you can create a JS object and use properties as keys. E.g.

var map = {};
map.key1 = 'value1';
map.key2 = 'value2';
map['key3'] = 'value3';

alert(map.key1); // value1
alert(map['key2']); // value2
var key = 'key3';
alert(map[key]); // value3

It has much similarities with Javabeans and EL, if you know Java/JSP well.

Answer 3

You could just create a named array.

var map = []; // Note that the brackets here are different than in Balus's answer
map['key1'] = 'value1';
map['key2'] = 'value2';
map['key3'] = 'value3';

alert(map['key1']);
alert(map['key2']);
var key = 'key3';
alert(map[key]);

I haven't compared the overhead of this as opposed to using a JavaScript object. I just assume it would be lower.

Answer 4

Unlike normal JavaScript objects, my jshashtable allows arbitrary keys and has a very similar API to Java's HashMap.