unchanged

unchanged

A tiny (~1.9kB minified+gzipped), fast, unopinionated handler for updating JS objects and arrays immutably.

Supports nested key paths via path arrays or dot-bracket syntax, and all methods are curriable (with placeholder support) for composability. Can be a drop-in replacement for the lodash/fp methods get, set, merge, and omit with a 90% smaller footprint.

Table of contents

• Usage
• Methods
  • get
  • getOr
  • set
  • remove
  • has
  • add
  • merge
  • assign
  • call
  • transform
• Additional objects
  • __
• Differences from other libraries
  • lodash
  • ramda
  • Other immutability libraries
• Browser support
• Development

Usage

import {
  __,
  add,
  assign,
  call,
  get,
  getOr,
  merge,
  remove,
  set,
  transform
} from "unchanged";

const object = {
  foo: "foo",
  bar: [
    {
      baz: "quz"
    }
  ]
};

// handle standard properties
const foo = get("foo", object);

// or nested properties
const baz = set("bar[0].baz", "not quz", object);

// all methods are curriable
const removeBaz = remove("bar[0].baz");
const sansBaz = removeBaz(object);

NOTE: There is no default export, so if you want to import all methods to a single namespace you should use the import * syntax:

import * as uc from "unchanged";

Methods

get

get(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), object: (Array<any>|Object)): any

Get the value at the path requested on the object passed.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar: "baz"
    }
  ]
};

console.log(get("foo[0].bar", object)); // baz
console.log(get(["foo", 0, "bar"], object)); // baz

getOr

getOr(fallbackValue: any, path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), object: (Array<any>|Object)): any

Get the value at the path requested on the object passed, with a fallback value if that path does not exist.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar: "baz"
    }
  ]
};

console.log(getOr("blah", "foo[0].bar", object)); // baz
console.log(getOr("blah", ["foo", 0, "bar"], object)); // baz
console.log(getOr("blah", "foo[0].nonexistent", object)); // blah

set

set(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), value: any, object: (Array<any>|object)): (Array<any>|Object)

Returns a new clone of the object passed, with the value assigned to the final key on the path specified.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar: "baz"
    }
  ]
};

console.log(set("foo[0].bar", "quz", object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'quz'}]}
console.log(set(["foo", 0, "bar"], "quz", object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'quz'}]}

remove

remove(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), object: (Array<any>|object)): (Array<any>|Object)

Returns a new clone of the object passed, with the final key on the path removed if it exists.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar: "baz"
    }
  ]
};

console.log(remove("foo[0].bar", object)); // {foo: [{}]}
console.log(remove(["foo", 0, "bar"], object)); // {foo: [{}]}

has

has(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), object: (Array<any>|object)): boolean

Returns true if the object has the path provided, false otherwise.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar: "baz"
    }
  ]
};

console.log(has("foo[0].bar", object)); // true
console.log(has(["foo", 0, "bar"], object)); // true
console.log(has("bar", object)); // false

add

add(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), value: any, object: (Array<any>|object)): (Array<any>|Object)

Returns a new clone of the object passed, with the value added at the path specified. This can have different behavior depending on whether the item is an Object or an Array.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar: 'baz'
    }
  ]
};

// object
console.log(add('foo', 'added value' object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'baz'}, 'added value']}
console.log(add(['foo'], 'added value', object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'baz'}, 'added value']}

// array
console.log(add('foo[0].quz', 'added value' object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'baz', quz: 'added value'}]}
console.log(add(['foo', 0, 'quz'], 'added value', object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'baz', quz: 'added value'}]}

Notice that the Object usage is idential to the set method, where a key needs to be specified for assignment. In the case of an Array, however, the value is pushed to the array at that key.

NOTE: If you want to add an item to a top-level array, pass null as the key:

const object = ["foo"];

console.log(add(null, "bar", object)); // ['foo', 'bar']

merge

merge(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), value: any, object: (Array<any>|object)): (Array<any>|Object)

Returns a new object that is a deep merge of value into object at the path specified. If you want to perform a shallow merge, see assign.

const object1 = {
  oneSpecific: "value",
  object: {
    one: "value1",
    two: "value2"
  }
};
const object2 = {
  one: "new value",
  three: "value3"
};

console.log(merge("object", object2, object1));
/*
{
  oneSpecific: 'value',
  object: {
    one: 'value1',
    deeply: {
      nested: 'other value',
      untouched: true,
    },
    two: 'value2',
    three: 'value3
  }
}
*/

NOTE: If you want to merge the entirety of both objects, pass null as the key:

const object1 = {
  oneSpecific: "value",
  object: {
    one: "value1",
    deeply: {
      nested: "value",
      untouched: true
    },
    two: "value2"
  }
};
const object2 = {
  one: "new value",
  deeply: {
    nested: "other value"
  },
  three: "value3"
};

console.log(merge(null, object2, object1));
/*
{
  one: 'new value',
  oneSpecific: 'value',
  object: {
    one: 'value1',
    deeply: {
      nested: 'value',
      untouched: true,
    },
    two: 'value2',
  },
  deeply: {
    nested: 'other value',
  },
  three: 'value3
}
*/

assign

assign(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), value: any, object: (Array<any>|object)): (Array<any>|Object)

Returns a new object that is a shallow merge of value into object at the path specified. If you want to perform a deep merge, see merge.

const object1 = {
  oneSpecific: "value",
  object: {
    one: "value1",
    deeply: {
      nested: "value",
      untouched: false
    },
    two: "value2"
  }
};
const object2 = {
  one: "new value",
  deeply: {
    nested: "other value"
  },
  three: "value3"
};

console.log(assign("object", object2, object1));
/*
{
  oneSpecific: 'value',
  object: {
    one: 'value1',
    deeply: {
      nested: 'other value',
    },
    two: 'value2',
    three: 'value3
  }
}
*/

NOTE: If you want to assign the entirety of both objects, pass null as the key:

const object1 = {
  oneSpecific: "value",
  object: {
    one: "value1",
    deeply: {
      nested: "value",
      untouched: true
    },
    two: "value2"
  }
};
const object2 = {
  one: "new value",
  deeply: {
    nested: "other value"
  },
  three: "value3"
};

console.log(assign(null, object2, object1));
/*
{
  one: 'new value',
  oneSpecific: 'value',
  object: {
    one: 'value1',
    deeply: {
      nested: 'value',
      untouched: true,
    },
    two: 'value2',
  },
  deeply: {
    nested: 'other value',
  },
  three: 'value3
}
*/

call

call(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), parameters: Array<any>, object: (Array<any>|Object)[, context: any])

Call the method at the path requested on the object passed, and return what it's call returns.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar(a, b) {
        return a + b;
      }
    }
  ]
};

console.log(call("foo[0].bar", [1, 2], object)); // 3
console.log(call(["foo", 0, "bar"], [1, 2], object)); // 3

You can also provide an optional fourth parameter of context, which will be the this value in the method call. This will default to the object itself.

const object = {
  calculate: true,
  foo: [
    {
      bar(a, b) {
        return this.calculate ? a + b : 0;
      }
    }
  ]
};

console.log(call("foo[0].bar", [1, 2], object)); // 3
console.log(call("foo[0].bar", [1, 2], object, {})); // 0

NOTE: Because context is an optional parameter, it cannot be independently curried; you must apply it in the call when the object is passed.

transform

transform(path: (Array<number|string>|number|string), fn: function, object: (Array<any>|object)[, ...extraParams: Array<any>]): (Array<any>|Object)

Returns a new clone of the object passed, with the return value of fn assigned to the final key on the path specified. fn is called with the current value at the path as the first parameter, and any additional parameters passed as extraParams following that.

const object = {
  foo: [
    {
      bar: "baz"
    }
  ]
};
const fn = (currentValue, preventUpdate) =>
  preventUpdate ? currentValue : "quz";

console.log(transform("foo[0].bar", fn, object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'quz'}]}
console.log(transform("foo[0].bar", fn, object, true)); // {foo: [{bar: 'baz'}]}
console.log(transform(["foo", 0, "bar"], fn, object)); // {foo: [{bar: 'quz'}]}
console.log(transform(["foo", 0, "bar"], fn, object, true)); // {foo: [{bar: 'baz'}]}

NOTE: Because extraParams are optional parameters, they cannot be independently curried; you must apply them in the call when the object is passed.

Additional objects

__

A placeholder value used to identify "gaps" in a curried function, allowing for earlier application of arguments later in the argument order.

import {__, set} from 'unchanged';

const thing = {
  foo: 'foo';
};

const setFoo = set('foo', __, thing);

setFooOnThing('bar');

Differences from other libraries

lodash

lodash/fp (the functional programming implementation of lodash) is identical in implementation to unchanged's methods, just with a 10.5x larger footprint. These methods should map directly:

• curry.placeholder => __
• get => get
• getOr => getOr
• merge => merge
• omit => remove
• set => set (also maps to add for objects only)

NOTE: There is no direct parallel for the add method in lodash/fp; the closest is concat but that is array-specific and does not support nested keys.

ramda

ramda is similar in its implementation, however the first big difference is that dot-bracket syntax is not supported by ramda, only path arrays. Another difference is that the ramda methods that clone objects (assocPath, for example) only work with objects; arrays are implicitly converted into objects, which can make updating collections challenging.

The last main difference is the way that objects are copied, example:

function Foo(value) {
  this.value = value;
}

Foo.prototype.getValue = function() {
  return this.value;
};

const foo = new Foo("foo");

// in ramda, both own properties and prototypical methods are copied to the new object as own properties
const ramdaResult = assoc("bar", "baz", foo);

console.log(ramdaResult); // {value: 'foo', bar: 'baz', getValue: function getValue() { return this.value; }}
console.log(ramdaResult instanceof Foo); // false

// in unchanged, the prototype of the original object is maintained, and only own properties are copied as own properties
const unchangedResult = set("bar", "baz", foo);

console.log(unchangedResult); // {value: 'foo', bar: 'baz'}
console.log(unchangedResult instanceof Foo); // true

This can make ramda more performant in certain scenarios, but at the cost of having potentially unexpected behavior.

Other immutability libraries

This includes popular solutions like Immutable.js, seamless-immutable, mori, etc. These solutions all work well, but with one caveat: you need to buy completely into their system. Each of these libraries redefines how the objects are stored internally, and require that you learn a new, highly specific API to use these custom objects. unchanged is unopinionated, accepting standard JS objects and returning standard JS objects, no transformation or learning curve required.

Browser support

• Chrome (all versions)
• Firefox (all versions)
• Edge (all versions)
• Opera 15+
• IE 9+
• Safari 6+
• iOS 8+
• Android 4+

Development

Standard stuff, clone the repo and npm install dependencies. The npm scripts available:

• build => run webpack to build development dist file with NODE_ENV=development
• build:minified => run webpack to build production dist file with NODE_ENV=production
• dev => run webpack dev server to run example app / playground
• dist => runs build and build:minified
• lint => run ESLint against all files in the src folder
• prepublish => runs prepublish:compile when publishing
• prepublish:compile => run lint, test:coverage, transpile:es, transpile:lib, dist
• test => run AVA test functions with NODE_ENV=test
• test:coverage => run test but with nyc for coverage checker
• test:watch => run test, but with persistent watcher
• transpile:lib => run babel against all files in src to create files in lib
• transpile:es => run babel against all files in src to create files in es, preserving ES2015 modules (for pkg.module)

Changelog

1.5.2

• Fix rollup build setup with latest curriable and pathington setups