Is declaring an associative array as a new Array() the same as declaring an associative array as an object {}?

Question

Is the object whiteStripes the same exact thing in both cases?

var whiteStripes = {'Jack' : 'White', 'Meg' : 'White'};

var whiteStripes = new Array();
whiteStripes['Jack'] = 'White';
whiteStripes['Meg'] = 'White';

`var whiteStripes = new Object();` would be the same thing, but not with `new Array()`. — Pointy, Apr 18 '13 at 19:55
Duplicate of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8067590/associative-array-versus-object-in-javascript — nullability, Apr 18 '13 at 19:55

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 18 '13 at 19:56

4

While you will still be able to access the properties the same way (whiteStripes['Jack']) in both instances when you declare whiteStripes = new Array(); you are saying it has all the properties and attributes of an array like length for example. If you are not intending to use it as a true array (pop, push, length, etc.) then don't use a JavaScript array.

edited Apr 18 '13 at 19:56

Ian

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answered Apr 18 '13 at 19:55

Andy Meyers

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score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 18 '13 at 19:56

No, it's not the exact same thing.

Both will work, because an array is also an object, but if you want just an object you should not create an array to get one.

These would result in the exact same thing being created:

var whiteStripes = {'Jack' : 'White', 'Meg' : 'White'};

var whiteStripes = new Object();
whiteStripes['Jack'] = 'White';
whiteStripes['Meg'] = 'White';

Is declaring an associative array as a new Array() the same as declaring an associative array as an object {}?

2 Answers2