Associative Arrays
In computer science, an associative array, map, symbol table, or dictionary is an abstract data type composed of a collection of (key, value) pairs, such that each possible key appears at most once in the collection. An associative array differs from a “normal” array in one major way: rather than being indexed numerically (i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, …), it is indexed by a key, or a language-like word. A Scripting.Dictionary is a standard object provided by the Microsoft Scripting Runtime (scrrun.dll) dependency and is commonly used in VBScript, a reference to which needs to be added in order to create an object in your AutoIt project.
A few notes on Associative Arrays:
- Think of an associative array as an array with named elements
- Comparisons can be exact (binary) or case insensitive (alpha)
At the time of writing this - 28 November 2017 - a new map data type is under development for AutoIt. It is availabe in the current beta release.
A dictionary object example by MHz
; Author Mhz
; Forum https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/182334-scripting-dictionary-modified/
Global $vKey, $sItem, $sMsg, $oDictionary
; Create dictionary object
$oDictionary = ObjCreate("Scripting.Dictionary")
If @error Then
MsgBox(0, '', 'Error creating the dictionary object')
Else
; Add keys with items
$oDictionary.Add ("One", "Same" )
$oDictionary.Add ("Two", "Car" )
$oDictionary.Add ("Three", "House" )
$oDictionary.Add ("Four", "Boat" )
If $oDictionary.Exists('One') Then
; Display item
MsgBox(0x0, 'Item One', $oDictionary.Item('One'), 2)
; Set an item
$oDictionary.Item('One') = 'Changed'
; Display item
MsgBox(0x20, 'Did Item One Change?', $oDictionary.Item('One'), 3)
; Remove key
$oDictionary.Remove('One')
;
$oDictionary.Key ('Two') = 'Bike'
EndIf
Sleep(1000)
; Store items into a variable
For $vKey In $oDictionary
$sItem &= $oDictionary.Item($vKey) & @CRLF
Next
; Display items
MsgBox(0x0, 'Items Count: ' & $oDictionary.Count, $sItem, 3)
; Add items into an array
$aItems = $oDictionary.Items
; Display items in the array
For $i = 0 To $oDictionary.Count -1
MsgBox(0x0, 'Items [ ' & $i & ' ]', $aItems[$i], 2)
Next
Sleep(1000)
; Add keys into an array
$aKeys = $oDictionary.Keys
; Display keys in the array
For $i = 0 To $oDictionary.Count -1
MsgBox(0x0, 'Keys [ ' & $i & ' ]', $aKeys[$i], 2)
Next
EndIf
The original AutoIt Scripting Dictionary implementation appears to have been by Gary Frost as far back as 2007. It has since been modified to the following:
#cs
Scripting Dictionary UDF
Made by GaryFrost <https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/47048-scripting-dictionary/>
Modified by Jefrey <jefrey[at]jefrey.ml>
Forum https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/182334-scripting-dictionary-modified/
#ce
Func _InitDictionary()
Return ObjCreate("Scripting.Dictionary")
EndFunc ;==>_InitDictionary
; Adds a key and item pair to a Dictionary object.
Func _AddItem($oDictionary, $v_key, $v_item)
$oDictionary.ADD($v_key, $v_item)
If @error Then Return SetError(1, 1, -1)
EndFunc ;==>_AddItem
; Returns true if a specified key exists in the Dictionary object, false if it does not.
Func _ItemExists($oDictionary, $v_key)
Return $oDictionary.Exists($v_key)
EndFunc ;==>_ItemExists
; Returns an item for a specified key in a Dictionary object
Func _Item($oDictionary, $v_key)
Return $oDictionary.Item($v_key)
EndFunc ;==>_Item
; Sets an item for a specified key in a Dictionary object
Func _ChangeItem($oDictionary, $v_key, $v_item)
$oDictionary.Item($v_key) = $v_item
EndFunc ;==>_ChangeItem
; Sets a key in a Dictionary object.
Func _ChangeKey($oDictionary, $v_key, $v_newKey)
$oDictionary.Key($v_key) = $v_newKey
EndFunc ;==>_ChangeKey
; Removes a key, item pair from a Dictionary object.
Func _ItemRemove($oDictionary, $v_key)
$oDictionary.Remove($v_key)
If @error Then Return SetError(1, 1, -1)
EndFunc ;==>_ItemRemove
; Returns the number of items in a collection or Dictionary object.
Func _ItemCount($oDictionary)
Return $oDictionary.Count
EndFunc ;==>_ItemCount
; Returns an array containing all the items in a Dictionary object
Func _GetItems($oDictionary)
Return $oDictionary.Items
EndFunc ;==>_GetItems
Func _Clear($oDictionary)
Return $oDictionary.RemoveAll
EndFunc
Below are several examples that illustrate the usage of the Scripting Dictionary UDF in AutoIt.
Example 1:
; Author Jefrey
; Forum https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/profile/75137-jefrey/
#include 'scriptingdic.au3'
#include <Array.au3> ; Needed only for _ArrayDisplay, and not required by the lib
; Init the object
$oObj = _InitDictionary()
; Adding a single value
_AddItem($oObj, 0, "Test")
; And showing it
msgbox(0, '', _Item($oObj, 0))
; Adding an array
Dim $aArr[] = [0, -80, -49, -44, 80, 100, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]
_AddItem($oObj, 1, $aArr)
; And showing it
_ArrayDisplay(_Item($oObj, 1))
; We can also use this approach:
$oObj3 = _InitDictionary()
$oObj.Add("test", "foo")
MsgBox(0, '', $oObj.Item("test"))
Example 2 is a reply to a common question asked on the Forum, How to find duplicate lines/values...
; Author Malkey
; https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/profile/31256-malkey/
; Forum https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/116156-best-way-to-compare-strings-for-duplicates/?do=findComment&comment=810752
Local $sStr, $begin, $dif, $sMatches
; Create random test data
For $i = 1 To 1000
$sStr &= Chr(Random(Asc("a"), Asc("z"), 1)) & Chr(Random(Asc("a"), Asc("z"), 1)) & _
Chr(Random(Asc("a"), Asc("z"), 1)) & Chr(Random(Asc("a"), Asc("z"), 1)) & @CRLF ;
Next
;ConsoleWrite($sStr & @CRLF)
$begin = TimerInit()
Local $oDict = ObjCreate("Scripting.Dictionary") ; to create a dictionary object
Local $aArray = StringSplit(StringStripWS($sStr, 2), @CRLF, 3)
For $i = 0 To UBound($aArray) - 1
If $oDict.Exists($aArray[$i]) Then
$sMatches &= $i & " " & $aArray[$i] & @CRLF ; Record duplicates
Else
$oDict.add($aArray[$i], '') ; to store a string (you may set $value = '' if you have no use of it)
EndIf
Next
$dif = Round(TimerDiff($begin) / 1000, 3) & " secs"
;Display results
If $sMatches <> "" Then
MsgBox(0, "Results", StringTrimRight($sMatches, 2) & @CRLF & "Time taken = " & $dif)
Else
MsgBox(0, "Results", "No duplicates found" & @CRLF & "Time taken = " & $dif)
EndIf
_____________________________________________________
The next example does not use the scripting dictionary UDF, but makes use of Global Enumerators. This allows access to data through named elements.
; Author guinness
; Forum https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/173803-oop-like-approach-in-autoit/
#include <MsgBoxConstants.au3>
; ---- Start of Person Class
; Stored in the 'object' to verify it's our 'object' and not some random array
Global Const $PERSON_GUID = '4197B285-6AB1-489B-8585-08C852E33F3D'
; Friendly names for 0, 1, 2 and 3
Global Enum $PERSON_AGE, $PERSON_NAME, $PERSON_ID, $PERSON_MAX
; Constructor
Func Person($sName, $iAge)
Local $hPerson[$PERSON_MAX]
; Set the GUID, so as the verification will work
$hPerson[$PERSON_ID] = $PERSON_GUID
Person_SetAge($hPerson, $iAge)
Person_SetName($hPerson, $sName)
; Return the Person 'object'
Return $hPerson
EndFunc ;==>Person
; Getter for the age property
Func Person_GetAge(ByRef $hPerson)
Return _Person_IsObject($hPerson) ? $hPerson[$PERSON_AGE] : Null
EndFunc ;==>Person_GetAge
; Setter for the age property
Func Person_SetAge(ByRef $hPerson, $iAge)
; If not a valid 'object' or integer then return
If Not _Person_IsObject($hPerson) Or Not IsInt($iAge) Then Return
; Set the age
$hPerson[$PERSON_AGE] = $iAge
EndFunc ;==>Person_SetAge
; Getter for the name property
Func Person_GetName(ByRef $hPerson)
Return _Person_IsObject($hPerson) ? $hPerson[$PERSON_NAME] : Null
EndFunc ;==>Person_GetName
; Setter for the name property
Func Person_SetName(ByRef $hPerson, $sName)
; If not a valid 'object' then return
If Not _Person_IsObject($hPerson) Then Return
; Set the name
$hPerson[$PERSON_NAME] = $sName
EndFunc ;==>Person_SetName
; ToString() for the 'object'
Func Person_ToString(ByRef $hPerson)
Return _Person_IsObject($hPerson) ? StringFormat('Name: %s, Age: %i', $hPerson[$PERSON_NAME], $hPerson[$PERSON_AGE]) : Null
EndFunc ;==>Person_ToString
; Check if it's a valid 'object' and not some random array. "NTERNAL ONLY!
Func _Person_IsObject(ByRef $hPerson)
Return UBound($hPerson) = $PERSON_MAX And $hPerson[$PERSON_ID] == $PERSON_GUID
EndFunc ;==>_Person_IsObject
; ---- End of Person Class
Example()
Func Example()
; Store the Person 'object', which is just a glorified array
Local $hP1 = Person('John', 30)
; Display the 'object'
MsgBox($MB_SYSTEMMODAL, 'Person 1', Person_ToString($hP1))
; Create a new person
; Store the Person 'object', which is just a glorified array
Local $hP2 = Person('James', 36)
; Display the 'object'
MsgBox($MB_SYSTEMMODAL, 'Person 2', Person_ToString($hP2))
; Set the age for Person 2
Person_SetAge($hP2, 45)
; Display the 'object'
MsgBox($MB_SYSTEMMODAL, 'Person 2 - Revised', Person_ToString($hP2))
EndFunc ;==>Example
Please see the current beta for more information on map functions.