Data Structures in JavaScript

Data structures are ways to organize and store data efficiently. Understanding them helps you choose the right tool for each problem and write more efficient code.

Arrays

Arrays are the most basic data structure in JavaScript, offering dynamic sizing and various built-in methods.

Basic Operations

const arr = [1, 2, 3];

// Add to end - O(1)
arr.push(4);

// Remove from end - O(1)
const last = arr.pop();

// Add to start - O(n)
arr.unshift(0);

// Remove from start - O(n)
const first = arr.shift();

// Access by index - O(1)
const value = arr[2];

// Search - O(n)
const index = arr.indexOf(3);

Objects (Hash Maps)

Objects provide O(1) average-case lookup, insertion, and deletion.

const map = {
  key1: 'value1',
  key2: 'value2'
};

// Add/Update - O(1)
map.key3 = 'value3';
map['key4'] = 'value4';

// Access - O(1)
const value = map.key1;
const value2 = map['key2'];

// Delete - O(1)
delete map.key1;

// Check existence - O(1)
const exists = 'key2' in map;
const hasOwn = map.hasOwnProperty('key2');

// Get all keys - O(n)
const keys = Object.keys(map);

// Get all values - O(n)
const values = Object.values(map);

// Get all entries - O(n)
const entries = Object.entries(map);

Set

Sets store unique values of any type.

const set = new Set([1, 2, 3, 2, 1]); // Set { 1, 2, 3 }

// Add - O(1)
set.add(4);
set.add(4); // Duplicate, no effect

// Delete - O(1)
set.delete(2);

// Check existence - O(1)
const has = set.has(3); // true

// Size - O(1)
const size = set.size;

// Clear all - O(1)
set.clear();

// Iterate
for (const value of set) {
  console.log(value);
}

// Convert to array
const arr = [...set];
const arr2 = Array.from(set);

Set Operations

const setA = new Set([1, 2, 3, 4]);
const setB = new Set([3, 4, 5, 6]);

// Union
const union = new Set([...setA, ...setB]); // Set { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 }

// Intersection
const intersection = new Set([...setA].filter(x => setB.has(x))); // Set { 3, 4 }

// Difference
const difference = new Set([...setA].filter(x => !setB.has(x))); // Set { 1, 2 }

// Symmetric Difference
const symmetricDiff = new Set([
  ...[...setA].filter(x => !setB.has(x)),
  ...[...setB].filter(x => !setA.has(x))
]); // Set { 1, 2, 5, 6 }

Map

Maps are key-value pairs where keys can be any type (unlike objects where keys are strings/symbols).

const map = new Map();

// Set - O(1)
map.set('string', 1);
map.set(42, 'number key');
map.set({}, 'object key');
map.set([1, 2], 'array key');

// Get - O(1)
const value = map.get('string'); // 1

// Has - O(1)
const exists = map.has(42); // true

// Delete - O(1)
map.delete('string');

// Size - O(1)
const size = map.size;

// Clear - O(1)
map.clear();

// Iterate
for (const [key, value] of map) {
  console.log(key, value);
}

// Get all keys
const keys = [...map.keys()];

// Get all values
const values = [...map.values()];

// Get all entries
const entries = [...map.entries()];

WeakMap and WeakSet

WeakMap and WeakSet hold weak references to objects, allowing garbage collection.

const weakMap = new WeakMap();
const obj = { name: 'Alice' };

weakMap.set(obj, 'some value');
weakMap.get(obj); // 'some value'
weakMap.has(obj); // true
weakMap.delete(obj);

// When obj is no longer referenced elsewhere,
// it can be garbage collected along with its WeakMap entry

const weakSet = new WeakSet();
weakSet.add(obj);
weakSet.has(obj); // true
weakSet.delete(obj);

WeakMap and WeakSet only accept objects as keys/values and are not iterable. They’re useful for preventing memory leaks.

Stack

Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) data structure.

class Stack {
  constructor() {
    this.items = [];
  }

  push(element) {
    this.items.push(element);
  }

  pop() {
    if (this.isEmpty()) return null;
    return this.items.pop();
  }

  peek() {
    if (this.isEmpty()) return null;
    return this.items[this.items.length - 1];
  }

  isEmpty() {
    return this.items.length === 0;
  }

  size() {
    return this.items.length;
  }

  clear() {
    this.items = [];
  }
}

const stack = new Stack();
stack.push(1);
stack.push(2);
stack.push(3);
console.log(stack.pop()); // 3
console.log(stack.peek()); // 2

Queue

First-In-First-Out (FIFO) data structure.

class Queue {
  constructor() {
    this.items = [];
  }

  enqueue(element) {
    this.items.push(element);
  }

  dequeue() {
    if (this.isEmpty()) return null;
    return this.items.shift();
  }

  front() {
    if (this.isEmpty()) return null;
    return this.items[0];
  }

  isEmpty() {
    return this.items.length === 0;
  }

  size() {
    return this.items.length;
  }

  clear() {
    this.items = [];
  }
}

const queue = new Queue();
queue.enqueue(1);
queue.enqueue(2);
queue.enqueue(3);
console.log(queue.dequeue()); // 1
console.log(queue.front()); // 2

Linked List

A linear data structure where elements are connected via pointers.

class Node {
  constructor(data) {
    this.data = data;
    this.next = null;
  }
}

class LinkedList {
  constructor() {
    this.head = null;
    this.size = 0;
  }

  add(data) {
    const node = new Node(data);
    if (!this.head) {
      this.head = node;
    } else {
      let current = this.head;
      while (current.next) {
        current = current.next;
      }
      current.next = node;
    }
    this.size++;
  }

  insertAt(data, index) {
    if (index < 0 || index > this.size) return false;

    const node = new Node(data);
    if (index === 0) {
      node.next = this.head;
      this.head = node;
    } else {
      let current = this.head;
      let previous;
      let i = 0;
      while (i < index) {
        previous = current;
        current = current.next;
        i++;
      }
      node.next = current;
      previous.next = node;
    }
    this.size++;
    return true;
  }

  removeFrom(index) {
    if (index < 0 || index >= this.size) return null;

    let current = this.head;
    if (index === 0) {
      this.head = current.next;
    } else {
      let previous;
      let i = 0;
      while (i < index) {
        previous = current;
        current = current.next;
        i++;
      }
      previous.next = current.next;
    }
    this.size--;
    return current.data;
  }

  indexOf(data) {
    let current = this.head;
    let index = 0;
    while (current) {
      if (current.data === data) return index;
      current = current.next;
      index++;
    }
    return -1;
  }
}

const list = new LinkedList();
list.add(1);
list.add(2);
list.add(3);
list.insertAt(1.5, 1);
console.log(list.indexOf(2)); // 2

Binary Tree

class TreeNode {
  constructor(value) {
    this.value = value;
    this.left = null;
    this.right = null;
  }
}

class BinaryTree {
  constructor() {
    this.root = null;
  }

  insert(value) {
    const node = new TreeNode(value);
    if (!this.root) {
      this.root = node;
      return;
    }

    const queue = [this.root];
    while (queue.length) {
      const current = queue.shift();
      if (!current.left) {
        current.left = node;
        return;
      }
      if (!current.right) {
        current.right = node;
        return;
      }
      queue.push(current.left, current.right);
    }
  }

  // Depth-First Search
  inOrder(node = this.root, result = []) {
    if (node) {
      this.inOrder(node.left, result);
      result.push(node.value);
      this.inOrder(node.right, result);
    }
    return result;
  }

  preOrder(node = this.root, result = []) {
    if (node) {
      result.push(node.value);
      this.preOrder(node.left, result);
      this.preOrder(node.right, result);
    }
    return result;
  }

  postOrder(node = this.root, result = []) {
    if (node) {
      this.postOrder(node.left, result);
      this.postOrder(node.right, result);
      result.push(node.value);
    }
    return result;
  }

  // Breadth-First Search
  levelOrder() {
    if (!this.root) return [];
    const result = [];
    const queue = [this.root];
    while (queue.length) {
      const node = queue.shift();
      result.push(node.value);
      if (node.left) queue.push(node.left);
      if (node.right) queue.push(node.right);
    }
    return result;
  }
}

const tree = new BinaryTree();
tree.insert(1);
tree.insert(2);
tree.insert(3);
tree.insert(4);
console.log(tree.levelOrder()); // [1, 2, 3, 4]

Complexity Comparison

Data Structure	Access	Search	Insert	Delete
Array	O(1)	O(n)	O(n)	O(n)
Object/Map	O(1)	O(1)	O(1)	O(1)
Set	N/A	O(1)	O(1)	O(1)
Stack	O(n)	O(n)	O(1)	O(1)
Queue	O(n)	O(n)	O(1)	O(1)
Linked List	O(n)	O(n)	O(1)*	O(1)*
Binary Tree	O(n)	O(n)	O(n)	O(n)

*At known position

Best Practices

Choose based on operations

If you need frequent lookups, use Map/Object. If you need unique values, use Set. If you need ordered insertion/deletion, use Array or LinkedList.

Use built-in structures first

JavaScript’s built-in Array, Object, Map, and Set are optimized and should be your first choice before implementing custom structures.

Consider memory vs speed

Some structures use more memory for faster operations. Choose based on your constraints.

Understand time complexity

Know the Big O complexity of operations for each data structure to make informed decisions.

Overview

Arrays

Objects & Functions

Async & Promises

DOM & Browser

Advanced Topics

Data Structures in JavaScript

Data Structures in JavaScript

Arrays

Basic Operations

Objects (Hash Maps)

Set

Set Operations

Map

WeakMap and WeakSet

Stack

Queue

Linked List

Binary Tree

Complexity Comparison

Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Arrays

Objects & Functions

Async & Promises

DOM & Browser

Advanced Topics

​Data Structures in JavaScript

​Arrays

​Basic Operations

​Objects (Hash Maps)

​Set

​Set Operations

​Map

​WeakMap and WeakSet

​Stack

​Queue

​Linked List

​Binary Tree

​Complexity Comparison

​Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Data Structures in JavaScript

Arrays

Basic Operations

Objects (Hash Maps)

Set

Set Operations

Map

WeakMap and WeakSet

Stack

Queue

Linked List

Binary Tree

Complexity Comparison

Best Practices