map function for objects (instead of arrays)

Question

I have an object:

myObject = { \'a\': 1, \'b\': 2, \'c\': 3 }

I am looking for a native method, similar to Array.prototype.map

Answer 1

How about a one liner with immediate variable assignment in plain JS (ES6 / ES2015) ?

Making use of spread operator and computed key name syntax:

let newObj = Object.assign({}, ...Object.keys(obj).map(k => ({[k]: obj[k] * obj[k]})));

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Another version using reduce:

let newObj = Object.keys(obj).reduce((p, c) => ({...p, [c]: obj[c] * obj[c]}), {});

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First example as a function:

const oMap = (o, f) => Object.assign({}, ...Object.keys(o).map(k => ({ [k]: f(o[k]) })));

// To square each value you can call it like this:
let mappedObj = oMap(myObj, (x) => x * x);

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If you want to map a nested object recursively in a functional style, it can be done like this:

const sqrObjRecursive = obj =>
  Object.keys(obj).reduce(
    (newObj, key) =>
      obj[key] && typeof obj[key] === "object"
        ? { ...newObj, [key]: sqrObjRecursive(obj[key]) } // recurse.
        : { ...newObj, [key]: obj[key] * obj[key] }, // square val.
    {}
  );       

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Or more imperatively, like this:

const sqrObjRecursive = obj => {
  Object.keys(obj).forEach(key => {
    if (typeof obj[key] === "object") obj[key] = sqrObjRecursive(obj[key]);
    else obj[key] = obj[key] * obj[key];
  });
  return obj;
};

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Since ES7 / ES2016 you can use Object.entries() instead of Object.keys() e.g. like this:

let newObj = Object.assign({}, ...Object.entries(obj).map(([k, v]) => ({[k]: v * v})));

ES2019 introduced Object.fromEntries(), which simplifies this even more:

let newObj = Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(obj).map(([k, v]) => [k, v * v]));

Inherited properties and the prototype chain:

In some rare situation you may need to map a class-like object which holds properties of an inherited object on its prototype-chain. In such cases Object.keys() won't work, because Object.keys() does not enumerate inherited properties. If you need to map inherited properties, you should use for (key in myObj) {...}.

Here is an example of an object which inherits the properties of another object and how Object.keys() doesn't work in such scenario.

const obj1 = { 'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}
const obj2 = Object.create(obj1);  // One of multiple ways to inherit an object in JS.

// Here you see how the properties of obj1 sit on the 'prototype' of obj2
console.log(obj2)  // Prints: obj2.__proto__ = { 'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

console.log(Object.keys(obj2));  // Prints: an empty Array.

for (key in obj2) {
  console.log(key);              // Prints: 'a', 'b', 'c'
}

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However, please do me a favor and avoid inheritance. :-)