Query for a specific item in collection of javascript object literals

Question

I have an array containing a few hundred object literals. Is there a way to query or match a specific one without having to loop through the entire array.

So for example, given:

var collection = [ { "id" : "A11", "text": "the text for A11", "data" : "12345" },
                   { "id" : "B14", "text": "the text for B14", "data" : "16542" },
                   { "id" : "C97", "text": "the text for C97", "data" : "54321" } ]

Is there a way to retrieve the item with "id" == "B14" without looping through the entire collection?

If you can guarantee your array is sorted by the key you're looking for, you could do a binary search. @adv12's answer will perform better of you can do that, though. — James Mason
– James Mason, Commented May 3, 2014 at 17:48

adv12 · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-03 17:38:59Z

1

If your container were an object keyed by sub-object id rather than an array, you could do a quick lookup like collection["B14"]. Depending on your situation it might be worth your while to generate such a lookup object from the array and use that from then on.

Example:

var collection = {
                   "A11": { "id" : "A11", "text": "the text for A11", "data" : "12345" },
                   "B14": { "id" : "B14", "text": "the text for B14", "data" : "16542" },
                   "C97": { "id" : "C97", "text": "the text for C97", "data" : "54321" }
                 }

answered May 3, 2014 at 17:38

adv12

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1 Comment

trashrobber Over a year ago

Thanks, I see. I'll get the collection created in a different way, this will be mush easier.

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