Difference between var = {} and var = []? [duplicate]

Answer 1

An Array ([]) is a kind of Object ({}). The key differences are:

• Arrays have a magic length property that is equal to the highest-set numeric key (plus one):

  var a = [];
  a[100] = 0;
  a.length; // is 101
  
  var o = {};
  o[100] = 0;
  o.length; // is undefined
  

• An Array's toString method prints out the values of numeric keys:

  var a = [];
  a[0] = 5;
  a[1] = 6;
  a[2] = 7;
  a.toString(); // "[5,6,7]"
  
  var o = {};
  o[0] = 5;
  o[1] = 6;
  o[2] = 7;
  o.toString(); // "[object Object]"
  

• Arrays have lots of specific functions for processing records:

  > Object.getOwnPropertyNames(Array.prototype)
  ["join", "toLocaleString", "sort", "some", "lastIndexOf", "splice", "map",
   "constructor", "every", "unshift", "shift", "indexOf", "pop", "forEach", "reverse",
   "reduce", "slice", "concat", "filter", "toString", "reduceRight", "push", "length"]