How to delete objects from JSON object?

Question

I am trying to delete an object from a JSON object. Is there an easy way to do it? If I have an object can I delete the item from it, or is it better to convert the object into an array and splice it? What are the pros and cons of each.

The logic I want to write is something like this.

function remove( delKey, delVal, o, stack){
    for(var key in o) {
        if(typeof o[key] === "object") {
            stack != undefined ? stack += "." + key : stack = key;
            remove(delKey, delVal, o[key], stack);
        } else {
            if(delKey == key && delVal == o[key]) {     
                delete o;
            }
        }
    }
}

changed code to use delete instead of splice

So this is basically what I would like to do, if there is an easier way then please let me know. The problem I am having here is A. I do not know where to splice. B. if I do splice, I think I am not going to return the spliced result through the recursion to the other objects.

My issue is since I will have different JSON every time I do not know the nested properties. That is why I am using the stack variable. Stack will the nested properties. SO if I want to delete say the color of an apple, stack will be json.fruit.apple.color. But it is a string not an object.

Anyways, does anyone have a better solution for deleting an object from JSON?

Sure, ok I have tried that as well. but if I just try to delete o; it does not work. — recneps
– recneps, Commented May 31, 2013 at 22:28
You also need to learn how to use the delete operator. See MDN's docs. — SLaks
– SLaks, Commented May 31, 2013 at 22:36
Please don't put your answer in the question. You are allowed to post answers to your own question and accept them. — Dennis
– Dennis, Commented May 31, 2013 at 23:06

Antoine · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-31 22:28:04Z

4

You can use the delete operator: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/delete

answered May 31, 2013 at 22:28

Antoine

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2 Comments

recneps Over a year ago

Ok, I understand that. but I am not sure what to delete. See stack in this case is a string of where the object is but not the actual object. if I just replace splice with delete o; it does not delete it from the JSON. My issue is I cannot delete that exact item.

Antoine Over a year ago

I'm not sure that I got everything. But maybe this can help you: If you have the value of a key stored in a variable you can do: stack[key] to access to the property key of your object stack

recneps · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-31 23:56:30Z

2

Hopefully this helps someone else from struggling with this. Thanks guys for the help.

Here is the answer and the function that I have that works for me. It is abstract enough to hopefully help someone else out.

If you pass this function any key value pair you want to delete and the parsed JSON object it will delete it and return true if the item was found and deleted.

    function remove(delKey, delVal, o) {
        for (var key in o) {
            if (typeof o[key] === "object") {
                if (remove(delKey, delVal, o[key])) { return true; }
            } else {
                if (delKey == key && delVal == o[key]) {
                    delete o[key];
                    return true;
                }
            }
        }
    }

edited May 31, 2013 at 23:56

answered May 31, 2013 at 23:47

recneps

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