Nested collections

This is a small package that makes it a bit easier to work with maps and sets under nested keys, which can become tedious very quickly when done manually.

Getting started

Install the package into your project:

npm install @baileyherbert/nested-collections

You can then import the two collection classes and use them as follows.

Nested maps

The NestedMap<K, V> class can be used as a direct replacement for Map<K, V>, with the exception that it does not currently support iteration. Passing an array as the key will automatically expand the array's values into a nested map structure.

import { NestedMap } from '@baileyherbert/nested-collections';

const map = new NestedMap<[string, string], number>();

map.set(['a', 'a'], 1);
map.set(['a', 'b'], 2);
map.set(['b', 'b'], 3);

map.get(['a', 'a']); // 1
map.get(['a', 'b']); // 2
map.get(['b', 'b']); // 3

Internally, the above code builds and maintains a map that looks something like this:

Map<string, Map<string, number>>

Supported methods

clear()
delete(key)
get(key)
has(key)
keys([partialKey]) – Returns an array of non-empty keys
set(key, value)

Nested sets

The NestedSet<K, T> collection works identically to the nested maps shown above, except the innermost structure is a Set<T>. You can also access the internal set and iterate over it.

import { NestedSet } from '@baileyherbert/nested-collections';

const set = new NestedSet<[string, string], number>();

set.add(['a', 'a'], 1);
set.add(['a', 'a'], 2);
set.add(['a', 'b'], 3);

set.has(['a', 'a'], 1); // true
set.delete(['a', 'a'], 1); // true

set.get(['a', 'a']); // Set(1, 2)
set.get(['a', 'b']); // Set(3)

[...set.get(['a', 'a'])]; // [1, 2]

Internally, the above code builds and maintains a map that looks something like this:

Map<string, Map<string, Set<number>>>

Supported methods

add(key, value)
clear()
delete(key, value)
entries(key)
forEach(key, callback[, thisArg])
get(key) – Returns the internal set instance or undefined if not found
has(key, value)
hasKey(key) – Returns true if there is a set under the given key
- Note: Empty sets will always return false because they are garbage collected away.
keys([partialKey]) – Returns an array of non-empty keys
values(key)

Supported keys

You can use any types as your keys, just like you can with a map. This class also supports single-value keys like maps. All of the following examples are valid:

// Single key (without array for backwards compatibility)
new NestedMap<string, number>();
new NestedMap<Symbol, number>();

// Single key
new NestedMap<[string], number>();
new NestedMap<[Symbol], number>();

// Multiple keys
new NestedMap<[string, string], number>();
new NestedMap<[Symbol, string], number>();

Partial keys

Some methods in the collections support partial keys to retrieve the underlying maps. These calls and their respective return values are strongly typed as well. For example:

const map = new NestedMap<[string, string], number>();

map.get(['first']); // Map<string, number> | undefined
map.get([]); // Map<string, Map<string, number>>

You can currently use partial keys in the following methods:

map.get()
map.has()
map.keys()
set.get()
set.hasKey()
set.keys()