Question

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Why do we not have splice in array collection?

The whole idea behind collection classes is to enhance the basic functionalities of available data structures and wrap them up with useful functions.

Then Why dont I see concat, splice, copy functions in array collections in flex (which are infact available in arrays!). Am I missing something in here or is it like that only?

Will appreciate if someone could enlighten me with the reasons behind this.

Thanks

Answer 1

Technically, a collection can be an unordered list, an associative array, or a tree. However, Adobe’s function list is heavily reliant upon indexes, so that’s not the reason.

The reason I would say is because the methods you specifically listed don’t just destroy sections of the array, the remove it from the original array, create a new array and return it.

A Flex Collection can be linked to remote resources, which helps make it apparent that you couldn’t remove items from a DB and create a new DB – you could remove and insert items though.

Also, while an Array Collection is not the same as a Tree Collection, its important that they have the same Interface (setItem, removeItem, etc). Using slice or splice on a tree collection wouldn’t work very well.