array-of-arrays-into-ast

turns an array of arrays of data into a nested tree of plain objects

Install

npm i array-of-arrays-into-ast

// consume as CommonJS require():
const generateAst = require("array-of-arrays-into-ast");
// or as ES Module:
import generateAst from "array-of-arrays-into-ast";

Here's what you'll get:

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Table of Contents

• Install
• What it does
• API
• opts.dedupe
• Principles
• Compared vs. datastructures-js
• Contributing
• Licence

What it does

It consumes array of arrays and produces a trie-like AST from them:

Input:

[[1, 2, 3], [1, 2], [5]];

Output:

{
  1: [
    {
      2: [
        {
          3: [null]
        },
        null
      ]
    }
  ],
  5: [null]
}

This library is a piece of a breakthrough code generator I'm producing.

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API

generateAst (input, [opts])

API - Input

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An Optional Options Object

Type: object - an Optional Options Object.

Here are all defaults in one place for copying:

{
  dedupe: true,
}

When unused, Optional Options Object can also be passed as a null or undefined value.

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API - Output

opts.dedupe

If you generate the AST with default settings, dedupe setting will be active and duplicate paths won't be created:

import generateAst from "array-of-arrays-into-ast";
const res = generateAst([[1], [1], [1]]);
console.log(
  `${`\u001b[${33}m${`res`}\u001b[${39}m`} = ${JSON.stringify(res, null, 4)}`
);
// res = {
//   1: [null]
// }

Now, see what happens when you turn off opts.dedupe:

import generateAst from "array-of-arrays-into-ast";
const res = generateAst([[1], [1], [1]], { dedupe: false });
console.log(
  `${`\u001b[${33}m${`res`}\u001b[${39}m`} = ${JSON.stringify(res, null, 4)}`
);
// res = {
//   1: [null, null, null]
// }
}

Notice how entries for each branch were created.

Generally, I don't see the reason why you'd want duplicates, but the setting is there if you ever need it. 👍🏻

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Principles

Every object's key will have a value of array.

• null inside that array means it's the tip of the branch.

• An object inside that array means the branch continues.

Simples.

Compared vs. datastructures-js

There are libraries that produce and manage trie data structures, for example, datastructures-js. In particular case, the problem is, the data structure is abstracted behind the let trie = ds.trie(); and you can't access it directly, traversing the nested tree of arrays and objects.

datastructures-js trie would limit to search(), traverse() and count() methods. However, we need to recursively traverse every node and look up and down, what's around it.

Here's where this library comes in. It doesn't abstract the data it's producing - you get a nested plain object which you can traverse and further process any way you like, using a vast ocean of object- processing libraries.

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Contributing

• If you want a new feature in this package or you would like us to change some of its functionality, raise an issue on this repo.

• If you tried to use this library but it misbehaves, or you need advice setting it up, and its readme doesn't make sense, just document it and raise an issue on this repo.

• If you would like to add or change some features, just fork it, hack away, and file a pull request. We'll do our best to merge it quickly. Prettier is enabled, so you don't need to worry about the code style.

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Licence

MIT License (MIT)

Copyright © 2018 Codsen Ltd, Roy Revelt