ih

Simple immutability helpers for javascript apps.

Purpose

Like using immutable data, but want to work with plain javascript objects? Use this small set of helpers to manipulate objects in an immutable way. Each method returns a new object, with the minimal set of changes required to complete the operation.

ih is well-tested, 1kb when minified and gzipped, and has no dependencies. It's based on tools we've built for our React/Redux frontend app at ClassDojo.

Usage

const ih = require("ih");
 
const obj = {
  a: {
    b: {
      c: 4
    }
  },
  arr: [
    {id: 1},
    {id: 2}
  ]
};
 
const get1 = ih.get(obj, "a.b.c") // => 4
const get2 = ih.get(obj, "a.b") // => {c: 4}
 
const set1 = ih.set(obj, "a", 3) // => new obj with a = 3.
const set2 = ih.set(obj, "a.b.c", 5) // => new obj with a.b.c = 5.  obj.a and obj.a.b are both new objects.
const set3 = ih.set(obj, "arr.0", {id: 3}) // => new obj with arr[0] = {id: 3}.  arr is a new array, second item is not.
const set4 = ih.set(obj, "a.e.f", 4) // throws - use setDeep for this.
const set4 = ih.setDeep(obj, "a.e.f", 4) // => new obj with a and a.e both objects, and a.e.f == 4.
 
const transformed = ih.transform(obj, "a.b.c", (x) => x - 1) // => new obj with a.b.c = 3.
const concatted = ih.concat(obj, "arr", [{id: 3}]) // => new obj with a new array with an extra item at arr.
const merged = ih.merge(obj, "a.b", {d: 3, e: 4}) // => new obj with a.b now having 3 keys.

How it works

Under the hood, ih is essentially a wrapper around Object.assign, making usage of this funcationality much more readable. For example,

  ih.set(obj, "a.b.c", 3)

desugars to

  Object.assign({}, obj, {
    a: Object.assign({}, obj.a, {
      b: Object.assign({}, obj.b, {
        c: 3
      });
    });
  });

or, with ES7 spread syntax

  {
    ...obj,
    a: {
      ...obj.a,
      b: {
        ...obj.b,
        c: 3
      }
    }
  }

API

In all methods that follow, obj is the object to be operated on, and path is either a string or an array of strings representing the path within an object to be transformed.

Basic

• get(obj, path) - returns the value at path within obj.
• set(obj, path, val) - returns a copy of obj, with the value at path set to val.
• setDeep(obj, path, val) - like set, but will recursively create objects to set a nested value.
• without(obj, path) - returns a copy of obj, with the key at path removed.

Transformations

• transform(obj, path, fn) - gets the value at path, calls fn on that value, and sets the path to the returned value.
• transformDeep(obj, path, fn) - like transform, but using setDeep.
• merge(obj, [path,] val) - merges all properties of item at path with those in val. Values from val take precedence. If only two arguments are provided, merges val directly with obj.
• mergeDeep(obj, path, val) - like merge, but using setDeep.
• inc(obj, path, val = 1) - increments the value at path by val, or sets it to val if it is null. Throws if it is a non-numerical value.
• incDeep(obj, path, val = 1) - like inc, but using setDeep.
• toggle(obj, path) - applies the not operator to the value at path.
• toggleDeep(obj, path, val = 1) - like toggle, but using setDeep.

Array operations

• concat(obj, path, val) - concats val to the end of the array at path, or sets path to val if there is nothing there. Throws if a non-array value is there.
• concatDeep(obj, path, val = 1) - like concat, but using setDeep.
• concatLeft(obj, path, val) - concats val to the beginning of the array at path, or sets path to val if there is nothing there. Throws if a non-array value is there.
• concatLeftDeep(obj, path, val = 1) - like concatLeft, but using setDeep.