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Using Objects for Lookups

curriculum/challenges/english/blocks/basic-javascript/56533eb9ac21ba0edf2244ca.md

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--description--

Objects can be thought of as a key/value storage, like a dictionary. If you have tabular data, you can use an object to lookup values rather than a switch statement or an if/else chain. This is most useful when you know that your input data is limited to a certain range.

Here is an example of an article object:

js
const article = {
  "title": "How to create objects in JavaScript",
  "link": "https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/a-complete-guide-to-creating-objects-in-javascript-b0e2450655e8/",
  "author": "Kaashan Hussain",
  "language": "JavaScript",
  "tags": "TECHNOLOGY",
  "createdAt": "NOVEMBER 28, 2018"
};

const articleAuthor = article["author"];
const articleLink = article["link"];

const value = "title";
const valueLookup = article[value];

articleAuthor is the string Kaashan Hussain, articleLink is the string https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/a-complete-guide-to-creating-objects-in-javascript-b0e2450655e8/, and valueLookup is the string How to create objects in JavaScript.

--instructions--

Convert the switch statement into an object called lookup. Use it to look up val and assign the associated string to the result variable.

--hints--

phoneticLookup("alpha") should equal the string Adams

js
assert(phoneticLookup('alpha') === 'Adams');

phoneticLookup("bravo") should equal the string Boston

js
assert(phoneticLookup('bravo') === 'Boston');

phoneticLookup("charlie") should equal the string Chicago

js
assert(phoneticLookup('charlie') === 'Chicago');

phoneticLookup("delta") should equal the string Denver

js
assert(phoneticLookup('delta') === 'Denver');

phoneticLookup("echo") should equal the string Easy

js
assert(phoneticLookup('echo') === 'Easy');

phoneticLookup("foxtrot") should equal the string Frank

js
assert(phoneticLookup('foxtrot') === 'Frank');

phoneticLookup("") should equal undefined

js
assert(typeof phoneticLookup('') === 'undefined');

You should not modify the return statement

js
assert(__helpers.removeJSComments(code).match(/return\sresult;/));

You should not use case, switch, or if statements

js
assert(
  !/case|switch|if/g.test(__helpers.removeJSComments(code).replace(/([/]{2}.*)|([/][*][^/*]*[*][/])/g, ''))
);

--seed--

--seed-contents--

js
// Setup
function phoneticLookup(val) {
  let result = "";

  // Only change code below this line
  switch(val) {
    case "alpha":
      result = "Adams";
      break;
    case "bravo":
      result = "Boston";
      break;
    case "charlie":
      result = "Chicago";
      break;
    case "delta":
      result = "Denver";
      break;
    case "echo":
      result = "Easy";
      break;
    case "foxtrot":
      result = "Frank";
  }

  // Only change code above this line
  return result;
}

phoneticLookup("charlie");

--solutions--

js
function phoneticLookup(val) {
  let result = "";

  const lookup = {
    alpha: "Adams",
    bravo: "Boston",
    charlie: "Chicago",
    delta: "Denver",
    echo: "Easy",
    foxtrot: "Frank"
  };

  result = lookup[val];

  return result;
}