javascript multidimensional associative array

Question

So I have

var arrays = [
    [ Material A, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5  ],
    [ Material B, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10  ],
    [ Material C, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15  ]
];

and I need to put it in this format which is a multidimensional associative array,

var bigdata = [
    { "Name": "MaterialA", "Row1": 1, "Row2": 2, "Row3": 3, "Row4": 4, "Row5": 5 },
    { "Name": "MaterialB", "Row1": 6, "Row2": 7, "Row3": 8, "Row4": 9, "Row5": 10 },
    { "Name": "MaterialC", "Row1": 11, "Row2": 12, "Row3": 13, "Row4": 14, "Row5": 15 }
];

I am trying

var bigdata = new Array(3);         

for (i=0; i<3; i++)
{
    // do name
    bigdata[i][0] = {"Name" : arrays[i][0]};

    for (j=1; j<6; j++ )
    {
        // rest of that row         
    }
}

But so far it is not working when I try to store the first "Name": "MaterialA" . What am I doing wrong or can this even be done? Thanks for the help.

I don't see commas separating the inner-most arrays in the arrays var. And why have single element arrays? — bloodyKnuckles
– bloodyKnuckles, Commented Jun 26, 2014 at 14:09
Is this exact syntax for your array definition? I mean, you have three level array the way you've declared it. — Artyom Neustroev
– Artyom Neustroev, Commented Jun 26, 2014 at 14:09
@bloodyKnuckles yes sorry about that, I forgot the commas, I will fix that now. — Andrew
– Andrew, Commented Jun 26, 2014 at 14:13

bloodyKnuckles · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-26 14:39:57Z

2

This is working for me. Notice I removed the [0] from your bigdata[i][0], and added the row assignment code to your "j" loop.

for (i=0; i<3; i++)
{
    // do name
    bigdata[i] = {"Name" : arrays[i][0]};

    for (j=1; j<6; j++ )
    {
        // rest of that row
        bigdata[i]['Row' + j] = arrays[i][j];
    }
}

JSFiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/ub54S/1/

edited Jun 26, 2014 at 14:39

answered Jun 26, 2014 at 14:28

bloodyKnuckles

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3 Comments

Andrew Over a year ago

Yes thank you. Also you were right earlier about the single element arrays. I thought they were single element arrays but are instead separated by commas. I fixed it in the original post to reflect the suggestion.

bloodyKnuckles Over a year ago

I updated my response. Also, in your example, the "Material A/B/C" array elements are not quoted. I assume that's a typo in your post too.

Andrew Over a year ago

Actually they are unquoted in arrays but then when they get put into bigdata they need to have quotes surrounding them.

mellamokb · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-26 14:07:45Z

1

The proper way to set a property of an associative array/object is like this:

bigdata[i]["Property"] = value   // this allows dynamic property name
bigdata[i].Property = value      // or like this, if property is hard-coded

So in your case, it should be:

bigdata[i] = {}   // initialize a blank object
bigdata[i].Name = arrays[i][0];

for ( j=1; j<6; j++ )
    bigdata[i]["Row" + j] = arrays[i][j];

Here is a demo: http://jsfiddle.net/56tk5/

answered Jun 26, 2014 at 14:07

mellamokb

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4 Comments

Andrew Over a year ago

Thanks that definitely helped. However when I try to access the first spot in bigdata, I use bigdata[0] and it returns [object Object]. I thought it would say "Name": "MaterialA". Am I accessing that incorrectly?

mellamokb Over a year ago

If you want to reference a specific value, use the same code - bigdata[i].Name. If you are trying to output the contents in a readable way, you can use something like JSON.stringify. The bigdata object has the equivalent contents as the example you provided in your post - it just doesn't display that way if you directly dump it out.

bloodyKnuckles Over a year ago

The bigdata example in the question is an array, not an object.

mellamokb Over a year ago

The object bigdata is an array, however each entry in the array bigdata[i] is an object.

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