How to get unique values in an array

Question

How can I get a list of unique values in an array? Do I always have to use a second array or is there something similar to java\'s hashmap in JavaScript?

I am going

Answer 1

If you want to leave the original array intact,

you need a second array to contain the uniqe elements of the first-

Most browsers have Array.prototype.filter:

var unique= array1.filter(function(itm, i){
    return array1.indexOf(itm)== i; 
    // returns true for only the first instance of itm
});


//if you need a 'shim':
Array.prototype.filter= Array.prototype.filter || function(fun, scope){
    var T= this, A= [], i= 0, itm, L= T.length;
    if(typeof fun== 'function'){
        while(i