fast way in javascript to update existing array with new values

Question

I'm starting with a large array containing nested objects (~34,000 items), and I'm polling every 5 seconds, receiving updates to the array (generally 2-3 updates at a time) and the new array only contains items that have changed (so for example, if only 3 items changed, I only get those 3 items in my updated array.)

I tried the following using underscore, but it takes up to 9 seconds, I need like a second or less.

  getUniqueUnion(new, old) {
    return uniq(union(new, old), false, function(item) {
      return item.info.id;
    }); 
  }

Anyone have a suggestion for a fast approach? If it helps, the unique key would be info.id, and the only change I'm really looking to detect (reason I need to update the item) is if the inStock value changes. In other words, if the inStock value hasn't changed, I dont need to make any update to that array item.

Example arrays:

const originalData = [
  {
    info: {
      id: 1
    },
    moreInfo: {
      name: 'hamburger',
      inStock: true
    }
  },
  ... // 33,999 more
]



const updatedData = [
  {
    info: {
      id: 1
    },
    moreInfo: {
      name: 'hamburger',
      inStock: false
    } 
  },
  ... // maybe 2 more
]

So the final array would include the first item to have moreInfo.inStock === false

If you know the id of the entry you need to update you should look for that id then update only that entry instead of re-writing the entire array — Hunter McMillen
– Hunter McMillen, Commented Oct 5, 2015 at 18:43
are the id's sequential? do they start at 1 and go to 34000, or is it more random? — John Boker
– John Boker, Commented Oct 5, 2015 at 18:56
I guess I was overcomplicating it, I can just use a for loop within a for loop and change that entry, instead of re-writing, thanks @HunterMcMillen. — Ben
– Ben, Commented Oct 5, 2015 at 19:19
So, here is your situation: first, you have originalData. You get the updatedData by polling. Now, you want to update the data in originalData base on new data from updatedData. Is that right? — Triet Doan
– Triet Doan, Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 3:05

Triet Doan · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-06 03:22:32Z

1

After reading your situation, here is my suggestions:

Sort your large array. You only have to do this once, so don't worry about it. Finding a value in a sorted array is always faster and easier than in an unsorted one.
Loop through your updatedData, take an item, look for it in your sorted array (originalData), using Binary Search. Update it as you want.

To see how Binary Search is implemented in javascript, you can refer to this post, or this one.

answered Oct 6, 2015 at 3:22

Triet Doan

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Ben · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-06 02:50:17Z

0

I was definitely over-complicating this. Here's a solution I came up with, but if anyone knows of something faster I'd appreciate it.

function updateArray(latest, current) {
  for (let i = 0, len = current.length; i < len; i++) {    
    for (let g = 0, len = latest.length; g < len; g++) {
      if (latest[g].module.id === current[i].module.id) {
        current[i] = latest[g];
        break;
      }
    }
  }

  return current;
}

edited Oct 6, 2015 at 2:50

answered Oct 5, 2015 at 19:23

Ben

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3 Comments

Hunter McMillen Over a year ago

if the length of latest and current are similar, this could still be pretty slow O(n^2) (assuming n is close to m. If you keep the current array sorted by id you could use binary search to find the element that you need to update in O(log n) time instead of O(n)

subdigit Over a year ago

Since info.id is unique, why not use a hash instead. Then all you need to do is to go through the latest array and simply overwrite the matching entry in the current hash.

Ben Over a year ago

latest will be very small, say and array of 1-3 items

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