reverse-iterable-map
The ReverseIterableMap
object is a reverse-iterable map implementation based on the built-in Map object.
It implements a linked list meaning that each element in the internal data structure (a Map
object) knows about its previous and next element; thus, allowing iteration in both directions at the same time. This implies added memory usage because in addition to its key and value, an element also needs to store the two references for the previous and next elements.
Links:
See also:
-
ReverseIterableArray
: reverse-iterable-array -
ReverseIterableSet
: reverse-iterable-set
Table of contents
Installation
npm install reverse-iterable-map
Usage
import ReverseIterableMap from 'reverse-iterable-map';
const map = new ReverseIterableMap();
Examples
For some live usage examples, clone the repository and run the following:
npm install
npm run build
npm start
Then, open localhost:8080/examples in a browser.
Tests
In order to run the tests, clone the repository and run the following:
npm install
npm test
Documentation
Disclaimer: The documentation section copies a lot of content from the Map
documentation on the Mozilla Developer Network.
A ReverseIterableMap
object iterates its elements in insertion or reverse-insertion order — a for...of
loop returns an array of [key, value]
for each iteration.
Constructor
Syntax
new ReverseIterableMap([iterable])
Parameters:
-
iterable
: AnArray
or other iterable object whose elements are key-value pairs.
Usage
-
Without arguments
const map = new ReverseIterableMap();
-
Array
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([1, 2, 3].entries());
-
Array
ofArray
sconst map = new ReverseIterableMap([[0, 1], [1, 2], [2, 3]]);
-
Map
const builtInMap = new Map([['key1', 1], ['key2', 2], ['key3', 3]]); const map = new ReverseIterableMap(builtInMap);
-
NodeList
const nodeList = document.querySelectorAll('a'); const map = new ReverseIterableMap(nodeList.entries());
size
The size
accessor property returns the number of elements in a ReverseIterableMap
object.
Syntax
map.size
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap()
.set('one', 'I')
.set('two', 'lack')
.set('three', 'creativity');
map.size
//> 3
[Symbol.toStringTag]
The ReverseIterableMap[@@toStringTag]
property has an initial value of “ReverseIterableMap”.
clear()
Syntax
map.clear();
Return value:
Usage
// Clears the underlying Map object
// Sets the first and last node references to `null`
map.clear();
delete()
Syntax
map.delete(key);
Parameters:
-
key: Required. The key of the element to remove from the
ReverseIterableMap
object.
Return value:
-
Boolean: Returns
true
if an element in theReverseIterableMap
object existed and has been removed, orfalse
if the element does not exist.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap(['hey', 'beauty'].entries());
map.delete(0);
//> true (deletes the key value pair [0, 'hey'])
map.delete(1);
//> true (deletes the key value pair [1, 'beauty'])
map.delete(2);
//> false (key 2 does not exist in map)
entries()
Returns an iterator containing the [key, value]
pairs for each element in the ReverseIterableMap
object in insertion order.
An iterator containing the same pairs in reverse-insertion order can be obtained with entries().reverseIterator()
.
Syntax
map.entries();
Return value:
A new ReverseIterableMap
iterator object.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([1, 2, 4].entries());
const iterator = map.entries();
iterator.next().value;
//> [0, 1]
iterator.next().value;
//> [1, 2]
iterator.next().value;
//> [2, 4]
iterator.next().value;
//> undefined
forEach()
The forEach()
method executes a provided function once for each [key, value]
pair in the ReverseIterableMap
object, in insertion order.
Syntax
map.forEach(callback[, thisArg]);
Parameters:
-
callbackfn: Function to execute for each element. The
callbackfn
gets passed references to the currentvalue
,key
, and a reference to theReverseIterableMap
object itself. -
thisArg: Value to use as
this
when executingcallback
.
Return value:
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([
[0, 'a'],
[1, 'b'],
[2, 'c']
]);
map.forEach(value => {
console.log(value);
});
//> a
//> b
//> c
map.forEach(function (value, key, mapReference) {
console.log(key, value, mapReference.size);
});
//> 0 a 3
//> 1 b 3
//> 2 c 3
forEachReverse()
The forEachReverse()
method executes a provided function once per each [key, value]
pair in the ReverseIterableMap
object, in reverse-insertion order.
Syntax
map.forEachReverse(callback[, thisArg]);
Parameters:
-
callback: Function to execute for each element. The
callbackfn
gets passed references to the currentvalue
,key
, and a reference to theReverseIterableMap
object itself. -
thisArg: Value to use as
this
when executingcallback
.
Return value:
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([
[0, 'a'],
[1, 'b'],
[2, 'c']
]);
map.forEachReverse(value => {
console.log(value);
});
//> c
//> b
//> a
map.forEachReverse(function (value, key, mapReference) {
console.log(key, value, mapReference.size);
});
//> 2 c 3
//> 1 b 3
//> 0 a 3
get()
Syntax
map.get(key);
Parameters:
-
key: Required. The key of the element to return from the
ReverseIterableMap
object.
Return value:
- Returns the element associated with the specified key or
undefined
if the key can't be found in theReverseIterableMap
object.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap(['hey', 'beauty'].entries());
map.get(0);
//> 'hey'
map.get(1);
//> 'beauty'
map.get(2);
//> undefined
has()
Syntax
map.has(key);
Parameters:
-
key: Required. The key of the element to test for presence in the
ReverseIterableMap
object.
Return value:
-
Boolean: Returns
true
if an element with the specified key exists in theReverseIterableMap
object; otherwisefalse
.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap(['hey', 'beauty'].entries());
map.has(0);
//> true
map.has(1);
//> true
map.has(2);
//> false
iteratorFor()
Returns an iterator containing the [key, value]
pairs for each element in the ReverseIterableMap
object in insertion order starting with the pair specified by the key
parameter.
This allows starting iteration at a specific element in the map.
An iterator containing the same pairs in reverse-insertion order can be obtained with iteratorFor().reverseIterator()
.
Syntax
map.iteratorFor(key);
Parameters:
- key: Required. The key of the element to start iterating from.
Return value:
A new ReverseIterableMap
iterator object.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([1, 2, 4].entries());
// Iterator, starting at the element with key 1.
const iterator = map.iteratorFor(1);
iterator.next().value;
//> [1, 2]
iterator.next().value;
//> [2, 4]
iterator.next().value;
//> undefined
// Reverse-iterator, starting at the element with key 1.
const reverseIterator = map.iteratorFor(1).reverseIterator();
reverseIterator.next().value;
//> [1, 2]
reverseIterator.next().value;
//> [0, 1]
reverseIterator.next().value;
//> undefined
keys()
Returns an iterator containing the keys for each element in the ReverseIterableMap
object in insertion order.
An iterator containing the same keys in reverse-insertion order can be obtained with keys().reverseIterator()
.
Syntax
map.keys();
Return value:
A new ReverseIterableMap
iterator object.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([1, 2, 4].entries());
const iterator = map.keys();
iterator.next().value;
//> 2
iterator.next().value;
//> 1
iterator.next().value;
//> 0
iterator.next().value;
//> undefined
reverseIterator()
In theory, following the semantics of [Symbol.iterator]()
, this should be [Symbol.reverseIterator]()
. However, as a developer, I cannot define a well-known symbol myself and make use of it. In the future, the a proposal like The ReverseIterable Interface, by Lee Byron might make it’s way into the specification. For the time being, the reverseIterator()
function serves the same purpose.
Syntax
map.reverseIterator();
Return value:
The map reverse-iterator function, which is the entries().reverseIterator()
function by default.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([1, 2, 4].entries());
const reverseIterator = map.reverseIterator();
reverseIterator.next().value;
//> [2, 4]
reverseIterator.next().value;
//> [1, 2]
reverseIterator.next().value;
//> [0, 1]
reverseIterator.next().value;
//> undefined
set()
Syntax
map.set(key, value);
Parameters:
-
key: Required. The key of the element to add to the
ReverseIterableMap
object. -
value: Required. The value of the element to add to the
ReverseIterableMap
object.
Return value:
- The
ReverseIterableMap
object.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap();
map.set('you', 'beauty');
//> map
map.set('the-magic-key', 'hey');
//> map
The set()
method returns a reference to the map object. This makes the set operation chainable.
const map = new ReverseIterableMap()
.set('key', '… is spelled like tea')
.set('hey', '… somehow ney');
setFirst()
The setFirst()
method functions like set()
but uses reverse-insertion order.
Syntax
map.set(key, value);
Parameters:
-
key: Required. The key of the element to add to the
ReverseIterableMap
object. -
value: Required. The value of the element to add to the
ReverseIterableMap
object.
Return value:
- The
ReverseIterableMap
object.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap()
.setFirst('key1', 'was inserted first')
.setFirst('key2', 'was inserted last');
map.values().next().value;
//> 'was inserted last'
map.values().reverseIterator().next().value;
//> 'was inserted first'
[Symbol.iterator]()
Returns the map iterator function. By default, this is the entries()
function.
Syntax
map[Symbol.iterator]();
Return value:
The map iterator function, which is the entries()
function by default.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([1, 2, 4].entries());
const iterator = map[Symbol.iterator]();
iterator.next().value;
//> [0, 1]
iterator.next().value;
//> [1, 2]
iterator.next().value;
//> [2, 4]
iterator.next().value;
//> undefined
values()
Returns an iterator containing the values for each element in the ReverseIterableMap
object in insertion order.
An iterator containing the same values in reverse-insertion order can be obtained with values().reverseIterator()
.
Syntax
map.values();
Return value:
A new ReverseIterableMap
iterator object.
Usage
const map = new ReverseIterableMap([1, 2, 4].entries());
const iterator = map.values();
iterator.next().value;
//> 1
iterator.next().value;
//> 2
iterator.next().value;
//> 4
iterator.next().value;
//> undefined
Why this was implemented
Part of the additions to ECMAScript 2015 are the iteration protocols: Iterable and iterator. The former allows arbitrary objects to become iterable. Following the rules of the protocol gives one iteration capabilities via the following techniques:
However, only the iteration in one direction is considered by the specification at the time. This means that we only get forward-iteration by default. There is a draft for a proposal to add a ReverseIterable
interface to the specification: “The ReverseIterable Interface” by Lee Byron.
Now, with the iteration protocols, we could redefine the iteration behavior for our purpose and make an object backwards-iterable. At the same time, this means losing the ability to iterate forwards.
If you need both a forwards- and backwards-iterable object, this implementation might be for you.
But why a map?
That’s what I needed. To be precise, I needed to access an iterator at a specific location in my data structure and be able to iterate in both directions.
I tried to stick to the Map
interface as close as possible.
Implementing a reverse-iterable array, for example, can be accomplished by using the same techniques of this implementation.
How to update this package
… because I keep forgetting that.
Let’s assume a minor update was made. First of all, the working directory needs to be cleaned up; all changes need to be committed. It’s important to run the build
script to make sure new CommonJS and ES modules are compiled from the TypeScript source module.
npm run build
git commit -am "Implemented extremely nice feature"
Next, make sure you have a valid NPM authentication token set up:
npm whoami
If not, do that with npm login
and continue. We now create a new commit with the next minor version tag and update the package.json. Actually, the following command will do that:
npm version minor # See `npm version --help` for more options
This creates a new git tag that we need to publish as well. With that, we can now publish the new version.
git push && git push --tags
npm publish
That’s it.