is there a problem with this expression {item_1.name: req.body.item } or alternatively with this {[item_1.name]: req.body.item }?

Question

I'm trying to run this piece of code:

router.put('/restaurants/:id', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const response = await Restaurant.findByIdAndUpdate(req.params.id, {name: req.body.name,
      item_1.name: req.body.item,
      item_2.name: req.body.item_2,
      item_3.name: req.body.item_3,
      item_4.name: req.body.item_4
    })
    res.send(response)
  }
  catch (error) {
    res.send(error)
  }
})

where the scenario is I have items (i.e item_1 etc) saved as objects in database, items got two properties name and rating, when admin wants to edit an item it should only be able to just edit the name property of an item not the rating, so for implementing this what i'm trying to do is, upon edit request as shown here, I want to set only the name property of an item as same to what has been sent in the request. but it gives me a typescript error (though I don't have typescript installed) saying:

',' expected.ts(1005)

and it happens before running this code, actually vs code is showing this error. and upon running it is showing something like this:

E:\xord\second_assignment\node\routes\restaurants.js:50
      item_1.name: req.body.item,
            ^

SyntaxError: Unexpected token '.'
    at wrapSafe (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1054:16)
    at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1102:27)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1158:10)
    at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:986:32)
    at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:879:14)
    at Module.require (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1026:19)
    at require (internal/modules/cjs/helpers.js:72:18)
    at Object.<anonymous> (E:\xord\second_assignment\node\index.js:8:21)
    at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1138:30)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1158:10)
    at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:986:32)
    at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:879:14)
    at Function.executeUserEntryPoint [as runMain] (internal/modules/run_main.js:71:12)
    at internal/main/run_main_module.js:17:47
[nodemon] app crashed - waiting for file changes before starting...

same thing happens with a different error when i try to access the object property with bracket notation.

I apologise for the very long query but I'm wondering; is the syntax I've used in this code for setting the value of an object's key inside another object, incorrect? if so then why? also what would be the alternative way to do this?

Does this answer your question? [How to use a variable for a key in a JavaScript object literal?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2274242/how-to-use-a-variable-for-a-key-in-a-javascript-object-literal) — Lioness100, Oct 19 '20 at 15:40
Thanks for trying to help me out but my question is rather specific, in the link you gave all they discussed is "can we use a variable as a key inside an object?" and as per most of them suggested that it should be resolved by using square brackets around the variable, but it's not working in my case as I'm getting item_1 undefined in [item_1.name] where as it works perfectly fine when I just use item_1 so the problem is within this approach. — New Programmer, Oct 19 '20 at 22:12
Not clear what are you trying to do in that `.findByIdAndUpdate()`. You are retrieving an item with id `req.params.id`, and then you want to update... `item_1.name`? What is `item_1.name`? — Aioros, Oct 20 '20 at 19:28
I want to retrieve a restaurant that has following attributes: name, item_1, item_2, item_3 and item_4, all items are objects that have name and rating property. all I want to do is upon put request .name property of an item should be replaced by the one user has provided. — New Programmer, Oct 21 '20 at 16:51

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 21 '20 at 20:13

thanks God! in mongoose v5.10.19 documentation I saw almost the same instance where they use a property of an object as a key of another object here:

Parent.update({}, { 'child.name': 'Luke Skywalker' }, (error) => {
  // Error because parentSchema has `strict: throw`, even though
  // `childSchema` has `strict: false`
});

by which I learnt that in such cases one should wrap the key in quotes as they did in "child.name". and that resolved the issue i was facing.

is there a problem with this expression {item_1.name: req.body.item } or alternatively with this {[item_1.name]: req.body.item }?

1 Answers1