cannot set w/ numeric key on an undefined nested object

[json2d]

i'm trying to use set w/ a numeric key on a nested object that does not exist (i.e. it's undefined in the parent object)

UC.set('[0][1]', 'foo', {})
UC.set('0.1', 'foo', {}) // alternatively

expected result:

{0: {1: 'foo'}}

actual result:

{0: [null, 'foo']}

seems to yield an array by default when the key is numeric?

is there a way to specify the desired behavior and get the expected result?

v: unchanged@2.2.1

[planttheidea]

With a deep set, it infers what type of object you want based on the key type. Your nested key is a number, so it assumes an index of an array as that is a more common use case than a numbered object key.

Only options I can think of are either to create the nested object as desired so that inference doesn't need to happen, or have a post process that converts the array to an object.

[json2d]

@planttheidea thanks for the tip - the workaround you described definitely works, but i end up w/ a bit more low level code than i'd like

i could potentially see this kind of path w/ the dot notation potentially being an intuitive way to differentiate a deep set on an object w/ a numeric key:

UC.set('0.1', 'foo', {})

understandably though such a change could end up breaking other user's code

what are your thoughts on this?

[planttheidea]

I did think it something else that may satisfy this: use an array of string keys instead of dot notation.

UC.set(['0', '1'], 'foo', {});

When an array, no parsing is done, so the key remains a string. This should cue the underlying "new object inferrer" to use an object.

I consider this an extreme edge case, and I'd rather not introduce a breaking change of far more common use cases to satisfy it.