Actionscript associative array constructor?

Question

This seems silly to ask this, but is there a way to make an associative array in actionscript right in the variable declarations?

e.g.

private var stages:Array = [
    "name" : "NY Stage",
    "location" : "New York",
    "capacity" : 15000
]

Instead, the way I'm doing it is (1): declaring the array up top and then creating the rest of the array in the class constructor:

private var stages:Array;

public function PlayStage(){
    stages["name"] = "NY Stage";
    stages["location"] = "New York";
    stages["capacity"] = 15000;
}

Can I do something like the top (without creating an object)?

xxbbcc · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-22 15:20:48Z

3

Don't use Array to create an associative array. If you read the Array documentation, it specifically recommends against the practice.

Use an Object instead. Here's a link to the documentation on how to create associative arrays:

Associative arrays in AS3

To iterate over the keys of an associative array (this would be used to get the length as well), you can use this:

var oObj:Object = { "name" : "pear", "color" : "yellow" };

...

for ( var key:* in oObj )
{
    // do something with the key or increment a counter, etc.
}

edited Jul 22, 2013 at 15:20

answered Jul 22, 2013 at 3:44

xxbbcc

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3 Comments

Keith Over a year ago

ah, I see. i also see that object doesn't have any methods like arrays (slice, splice, length), which is why i was hoping to use associative arrays (instead of turning objects into arrays when needed or looping). what's the easiest way to get the length of an object's properties?

xxbbcc Over a year ago

@Prodikl I updated my answer with a small for loop that you can use to iterate over the keys. You can use this method to create a function that returns the length of an associative array that you pass in.

Keith Over a year ago

that's awesome, thanks! and accessing the value would just be oObj[key], right?

divillysausages · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-22 07:37:35Z

1

Like xxbbcc said, Associative arrays are essentially objects in AS3, so the shorthand object construction will work:

private var stages:Object = {
    "name" : "NY Stage",
    "location" : "New York",
    "capacity" : 15000
}

answered Jul 22, 2013 at 7:37

divillysausages

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