# groupIn
> Group an object's **own** and **inherited** property values according to an indicator function.
## Usage
```javascript
var groupIn = require( '@stdlib/utils/group-in' );
```
#### groupIn( obj, \[options,] indicator )
Groups an object's **own** and **inherited** property values according to an `indicator` function, which specifies which group a value in the input `object` belongs to.
```javascript
function indicator( v ) {
return v[ 0 ];
}
function Foo() {
this.a = 'beep';
this.b = 'boop';
return this;
}
Foo.prototype = Object.create( null );
Foo.prototype.c = 'foo';
Foo.prototype.d = 'bar';
var obj = new Foo();
var out = groupIn( obj, indicator );
// e.g., returns { 'b': [ 'beep', 'boop', 'bar' ], 'f': [ 'foo' ] }
```
An `indicator` function is provided two arguments:
- `value`: object value
- `key`: object index
```javascript
function indicator( v, k ) {
console.log( '%s: %s', k, v );
return v[ 0 ];
}
function Foo() {
this.a = 'beep';
this.b = 'boop';
return this;
}
Foo.prototype = Object.create( null );
Foo.prototype.c = 'foo';
Foo.prototype.d = 'bar';
var obj = new Foo();
var out = groupIn( obj, indicator );
// e.g., returns { 'b': [ 'beep', 'boop', 'bar' ], 'f': [ 'foo' ] }
```
The function accepts the following `options`:
- `returns`: specifies the output format. If the option equals `'values'`, the function outputs values. If the option equals `'keys'`, the function outputs keys. If the option equals `'*'`, the function outputs both keys and values. Default: `'values'`.
- `thisArg`: execution context.
By default, the function returns object values. To return object keys, set the `returns` option to `'keys'`.
```javascript
function indicator( v ) {
return v[ 0 ];
}
function Foo() {
this.a = 'beep';
this.b = 'boop';
return this;
}
Foo.prototype = Object.create( null );
Foo.prototype.c = 'foo';
Foo.prototype.d = 'bar';
var obj = new Foo();
var opts = {
'returns': 'keys'
};
var out = groupIn( obj, opts, indicator );
// e.g., returns { 'b': [ 'a', 'b', 'd' ], 'f': [ 'c' ] }
```
To return key-value pairs, set the `returns` option to `'*'`.
```javascript
function indicator( v ) {
return v[ 0 ];
}
function Foo() {
this.a = 'beep';
this.b = 'boop';
return this;
}
Foo.prototype = Object.create( null );
Foo.prototype.c = 'foo';
Foo.prototype.d = 'bar';
var obj = new Foo();
var opts = {
'returns': '*'
};
var out = groupIn( obj, opts, indicator );
// e.g., returns { 'b': [ [ 'a', 'beep' ], [ 'b', 'boop ], [ 'd', 'bar' ] ], 'f': [ [ 'c', 'foo' ] ] }
```
To set the `indicator` execution context, provide a `thisArg`.
```javascript
function indicator( v ) {
this.count += 1;
return v[ 0 ];
}
function Foo() {
this.a = 'beep';
this.b = 'boop';
return this;
}
Foo.prototype = Object.create( null );
Foo.prototype.c = 'foo';
Foo.prototype.d = 'bar';
var obj = new Foo();
var context = {
'count': 0
};
var opts = {
'thisArg': context
};
var out = groupIn( obj, opts, indicator );
// e.g., returns { 'b': [ 'beep', 'boop', 'bar' ], 'f': [ 'foo' ] }
console.log( context.count );
// => 4
```
## Notes
- Iteration order is **not** guaranteed, as `object` key enumeration is not specified according to the [ECMAScript specification][ecma-262-for-in]. In practice, however, most engines use insertion order to sort an `object`'s keys, thus allowing for deterministic iteration.
- Because iteration order is **not** guaranteed, result order is **not** guaranteed.
- The function determines the list of own **and** inherited enumerable properties **before** invoking the provided function. Hence, any modifications made to the input `object` **after** calling this function (such as adding and removing properties) will **not** affect the list of visited properties.
- The value returned by an `indicator` function should be a value which can be serialized as an `object` key. As a counterexample,
```javascript
function indicator( v ) {
return {};
}
function Foo() {
this.a = 'beep';
this.b = 'boop';
return this;
}
Foo.prototype = Object.create( null );
Foo.prototype.c = 'foo';
Foo.prototype.d = 'bar';
var obj = new Foo();
var out = groupIn( obj, indicator );
// e.g., returns { '[object Object]': [ 'beep', 'boop', 'foo', 'bar' ] }
```
while each group identifier is unique, all object values resolve to the same group because each group identifier serializes to the same `string`.
## Examples
```javascript
var randu = require( '@stdlib/random/base/randu' );
var fromCodePoint = require( '@stdlib/string/from-code-point' );
var groupIn = require( '@stdlib/utils/group-in' );
var key;
var obj;
var out;
var i;
function Foo() {
var key;
var i;
for ( i = 0; i < 50; i++ ) {
key = fromCodePoint( 147+i );
this[ key ] = randu();
}
return this;
}
Foo.prototype = Object.create( null );
for ( i = 0; i < 50; i++ ) {
key = fromCodePoint( 97+i );
Foo.prototype[ key ] = randu();
}
// Generate a random object:
obj = new Foo();
// Compute the groups...
function indicator( v ) {
if ( v < 0.5 ) {
return 'low';
}
return 'high';
}
out = groupIn( obj, indicator );
console.log( out );
```
[ecma-262-for-in]: http://www.ecma-international.org/ecma-262/5.1/#sec-12.6.4