Avoid indexing the keys in a Javascript array

Question

I need a data structure to store feeds in columns into tabs.

So the pseudo structure would be:

First Tab : name (string)
    First column
        First feed : (url (str), type (str), limit (int))
        Second feed : (url (str), type (str), limit (int))
    Second column
        First feed : (url (str), type (str), limit (int))
        Second feed : (url (str), type (str), limit (int))
        Third feed : (url (str), type (str), limit (int))
Second Tab : name (string)
    First column
        First feed : (url (str), type (str), limit (int))
    Second column
        First feed : (url (str), type (str), limit (int))

... And so on.

Now this works:

  var feeds = [
    {"groupName":"News",
     "0": [
       {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"mixed","limit": 8},
       {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"photo","limit": 4}
     ],
     "1": [
       {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"mixed","limit": 8},
       {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"mixed","limit": 8},
       {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"photo","limit": 4}
     ]
    },
    {"groupName":"Comics",
     "0": [
       {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"photo","limit": 8},
       {"url":"http://superphazed.tumblr.com/rss","type":"photo","limit": 8}
     ]
    }
  ];

But

1. I want to avoid maintaining a numerical index for the column keys ;
2. I'm not sure it's the right data structure type.

Apparently the form above is a JavaScript literal object, that is, not an array and not JSon. This is a problem, I want to use the right data structure for what I intend to do with it : At one point in time, I need to validate variables against this data structure, that is to say "OK, this variable is a proper list of feeds". I also need to easily add, delete and rename elements, and from what I can see, there are at least 3 approaches to "arrays" in JavaScript, each with its own set of idiosyncrasies, methods and tools, dos and don'ts ; The context is JavaScript (module pattern) in the browser, and JQuery is available.

So I guess my question is twofold:

• What is the best data structure in this context to allow easy manipulation later ;
• Is there a way to have unnamed columns containing non-indexed feeds?

Answer 1

You don't need to label object fields 0 or 1. On each Tab, you could have a field columns which is an array, of arrays containing the feeds in the column as so:

const Tabs = [
  {
    groupName: "News"
    columns: [
      [
        {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"mixed","limit": 8},
        {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"photo","limit": 4}
      ],
      [
        {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"mixed","limit": 8},
        {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"mixed","limit": 8},
        {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"photo","limit": 4}
      ]
    ]
  },
  {
    groupName: "Comics",
    columns: [
      [
        {"url":"http://xkcd.com/rss.xml","type":"photo","limit": 8},
        {"url":"http://superphazed.tumblr.com/rss","type":"photo","limit": 8}
      ]
    ]
  }
];