WeakMap and WeakSet - JavaScript Programming Language - Data Types

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2 Mar 2024

WeakMap and WeakSet

As we know from the chapter Garbage collection, JavaScript engine keeps a value in memory while it is “reachable” and can potentially be used.

For instance:

let john = { name: "John" };

// the object can be accessed, john is the reference to it

// overwrite the reference
john = null;

// the object will be removed from memory

Usually, properties of an object or elements of an array or another data structure are considered reachable and kept in memory while that data structure is in memory.

For instance, if we put an object into an array, then while the array is alive, the object will be alive as well, even if there are no other references to it.

Like this:

let john = { name: "John" };

let array = [ john ];

john = null; // overwrite the reference

// the object previously referenced by john is stored inside the array
// therefore it won't be garbage-collected
// we can get it as array[0]

Similar to that, if we use an object as the key in a regular Map, then while the Map exists, that object exists as well. It occupies memory and may not be garbage collected.

For instance:

let john = { name: "John" };

let map = new Map();
map.set(john, "...");

john = null; // overwrite the reference

// john is stored inside the map,
// we can get it by using map.keys()

WeakMap is fundamentally different in this aspect. It doesn’t prevent garbage-collection of key objects.
Let’s see what it means on examples.

WeakMap

The first difference between Map and WeakMap is that keys must be objects, not primitive values:

let weakMap = new WeakMap();

let obj = {};

weakMap.set(obj, "ok"); // works fine (object key)

// can't use a string as the key
weakMap.set("test", "Whoops"); // Error, because "test" is not an object

Now, if we use an object as the key in it, and there are no other references to that object – it will be removed from memory (and from the map) automatically.

let john = { name: "John" };

let weakMap = new WeakMap();
weakMap.set(john, "...");

john = null; // overwrite the reference

// john is removed from memory!

Compare it with the regular Map example above. Now if john only exists as the key of WeakMap – it will be automatically deleted from the map (and memory).
WeakMap does not support iteration and methods keys(), values(), entries(), so there’s no way to get all keys or values from it.
WeakMap has only the following methods:

Why such a limitation? That’s for technical reasons. If an object has lost all other references (like john in the code above), then it is to be garbage-collected automatically. But technically it’s not exactly specified when the cleanup happens.
The JavaScript engine decides that. It may choose to perform the memory cleanup immediately or to wait and do the cleaning later when more deletions happen. So, technically, the current element count of a WeakMap is not known. The engine may have cleaned it up or not, or did it partially. For that reason, methods that access all keys/values are not supported.
Now, where do we need such a data structure?

Use case: additional data

The main area of application for WeakMap is an additional data storage.
If we’re working with an object that “belongs” to another code, maybe even a third-party library, and would like to store some data associated with it, that should only exist while the object is alive – then WeakMap is exactly what’s needed.
We put the data to a WeakMap, using the object as the key, and when the object is garbage collected, that data will automatically disappear as well.

weakMap.set(john, "secret documents");
// if john dies, secret documents will be destroyed automatically

Let’s look at an example.
For instance, we have code that keeps a visit count for users. The information is stored in a map: a user object is the key and the visit count is the value. When a user leaves (its object gets garbage collected), we don’t want to store their visit count anymore.

Here’s an example of a counting function with Map:

// 📁 visitsCount.js
let visitsCountMap = new Map(); // map: user => visits count

// increase the visits count
function countUser(user) {let count = visitsCountMap.get(user) || 0;
  visitsCountMap.set(user, count + 1);
}

And here’s another part of the code, maybe another file using it:

// 📁 main.js
let john = { name: "John" };

countUser(john); // count his visits

// later john leaves us
john = null;

Now, john object should be garbage collected, but remains in memory, as it’s a key in visitsCountMap.
We need to clean visitsCountMap when we remove users, otherwise it will grow in memory indefinitely. Such cleaning can become a tedious task in complex architectures.
We can avoid it by switching to WeakMap instead:

// 📁 visitsCount.js
let visitsCountMap = new WeakMap(); // weakmap: user => visits count

// increase the visits count
function countUser(user) {let count = visitsCountMap.get(user) || 0;
  visitsCountMap.set(user, count + 1);
}

Now we don’t have to clean visitsCountMap. After john object becomes unreachable, by all means except as a key of WeakMap, it gets removed from memory, along with the information by that key from WeakMap.

Use case: caching

Another common example is caching. We can store (“cache”) results from a function, so that future calls on the same object can reuse it.
To achieve that, we can use Map (not optimal scenario):

// 📁 cache.js
let cache = new Map();

// calculate and remember the result
function process(obj) {if (!cache.has(obj)) {let result = /* calculations of the result for */ obj;

    cache.set(obj, result);return result;}

  return cache.get(obj);
}

// Now we use process() in another file:

// 📁 main.js
let obj = {/* let's say we have an object */};

let result1 = process(obj); // calculated

// ...later, from another place of the code...
let result2 = process(obj); // remembered result taken from cache

// ...later, when the object is not needed any more:
obj = null;

alert(cache.size); // 1 (Ouch! The object is still in cache, taking memory!)

For multiple calls of process(obj) with the same object, it only calculates the result the first time, and then just takes it from cache. The downside is that we need to clean cache when the object is not needed any more.
If we replace Map with WeakMap, then this problem disappears. The cached result will be removed from memory automatically after the object gets garbage collected.

// 📁 cache.js
let cache = new WeakMap();

// calculate and remember the result
function process(obj) {if (!cache.has(obj)) {let result = /* calculate the result for */ obj;

    cache.set(obj, result);return result;}

  return cache.get(obj);
}

// 📁 main.js
let obj = {/* some object */};

let result1 = process(obj);
let result2 = process(obj);

// ...later, when the object is not needed any more:
obj = null;

// Can't get cache.size, as it's a WeakMap,
// but it's 0 or soon be 0
// When obj gets garbage collected, cached data will be removed as well

WeakSet

WeakSet behaves similarly:

It is analogous to Set, but we may only add objects to WeakSet (not primitives).
An object exists in the set while it is reachable from somewhere else.
Like Set, it supports add, has and delete, but not size, keys() and no iterations.

Being “weak”, it also serves as additional storage. But not for arbitrary data, rather for “yes/no” facts. A membership in WeakSet may mean something about the object.
For instance, we can add users to WeakSet to keep track of those who visited our site:

let visitedSet = new WeakSet();

let john = { name: "John" };
let pete = { name: "Pete" };
let mary = { name: "Mary" };

visitedSet.add(john); // John visited us
visitedSet.add(pete); // Then Pete
visitedSet.add(john); // John again

// visitedSet has 2 users now

// check if John visited?
alert(visitedSet.has(john)); // true

// check if Mary visited?
alert(visitedSet.has(mary)); // false

john = null;

// visitedSet will be cleaned automatically

The most notable limitation of WeakMap and WeakSet is the absence of iterations, and the inability to get all current content. That may appear inconvenient, but does not prevent WeakMap/WeakSet from doing their main job – be an “additional” storage of data for objects which are stored/managed at another place.

Summary

WeakMap is Map-like collection that allows only objects as keys and removes them together with associated value once they become inaccessible by other means.

WeakSet is Set-like collection that stores only objects and removes them once they become inaccessible by other means.

Their main advantages are that they have weak reference to objects, so they can easily be removed by garbage collector.

That comes at the cost of not having support for clear, size, keys, values…

WeakMap and WeakSet are used as “secondary” data structures in addition to the “primary” object storage. Once the object is removed from the primary storage, if it is only found as the key of WeakMap or in a WeakSet, it will be cleaned up automatically.

Tasks

Store "unread" flags
importance: 5

There’s an array of messages:

let messages = [{text: "Hello", from: "John"},{text: "How goes?", from: "John"},{text: "See you soon", from: "Alice"}
];

Your code can access it, but the messages are managed by someone else’s code. New messages are added, old ones are removed regularly by that code, and you don’t know the exact moments when it happens.
Now, which data structure could you use to store information about whether the message “has been read”? The structure must be well-suited to give the answer “was it read?” for the given message object.

P.S. When a message is removed from messages, it should disappear from your structure as well.

P.P.S. We shouldn’t modify message objects, add our properties to them. As they are managed by someone else’s code, that may lead to bad consequences.

Store read dates
importance: 5

There’s an array of messages as in the previous task. The situation is similar.

let messages = [{text: "Hello", from: "John"},{text: "How goes?", from: "John"},{text: "See you soon", from: "Alice"}
];

The question now is: which data structure you’d suggest to store the information: “when the message was read?”.
In the previous task we only needed to store the “yes/no” fact. Now we need to store the date, and it should only remain in memory until the message is garbage collected.
P.S. Dates can be stored as objects of built-in Date class, that we’ll cover later.