How to swap `NSMutableDictionary` key and values in place? - iphone

Question

I have a NSMutableDictionary and I want to swap values & keys. i.e, after swapping values becomes keys and its corresponding keys with become values All keys and values are unique. Looking for an in place solution because size is very big . Also, the keys and values are NSString objects

Answer 1

NSMutableDictionary *d = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithDictionary:#{
#"key1" : #"value1",
#"key2" : #"value2"}];
for (NSString *key in [d allKeys]) {
d[d[key]] = key;
[d removeObjectForKey:key];
}
NSLog(#"%#", d); // => { value1 : key1,
// value2 : key2 }
Assumptions
unique values (as they will become keys)
values conform to NSCopying (same as above)
no value is equal to any key (otherwise colliding names will be lost in the process)

Answer 2

Here is another way to invert dictionary. The simplest for me.
NSArray *keys = dictionary.allKeys;
NSArray *values = [dictionary objectsForKeys:keys notFoundMarker:[NSNull null]];
[dictionary removeAllObjects]; // In case of huge data sets release the contents.
NSDictionary *invertedDictionary = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjects:keys forKeys:values];
[dictionary setDictionary:invertedDictionary]; // In case you want to use the original dictionary.

Answer 3

EDIT: I had written a few lines of codes to get the OP started into the task of creating his own algorithm. The answer was not well received so I have crafted a full implementation of an algorithm that does what he asks, and goes one step further.
Advantages:
Makes no assumptions regarding the contents of the dictionary, for example, the values need not conform to the 'NSCopying' protocol
Transverses the whole hierarchy of a collection, swapping all the keys
It's fast since it uses recursion and fast enumeration
Does not alter the contents of the original dictionary, it creates a brand new one
Code has been implemented through categories to both collections:
#interface NSDictionary (Swapping)
- (NSDictionary *)dictionaryBySwappingKeyWithValue;
#end
#interface NSDictionary (Swapping)
- (NSDictionary *)dictionaryBySwappingKeyWithValue
{
NSMutableDictionary *mutableDictionary = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithCapacity:self.count];
[self enumerateKeysAndObjectsUsingBlock:^(id key, id value, BOOL *stop) {
id newKey = nil;
if ([value isKindOfClass:[NSDictionary class]]) {
newKey = [value dictionaryBySwappingKeyWithValue];
} else if ([value isKindOfClass:[NSArray class]]) {
newKey = [value arrayBySwappingKeyWithValue];
} else {
newKey = value;
}
if (![newKey conformsToProtocol:#protocol(NSCopying)]) {
newKey = [NSValue valueWithNonretainedObject:newKey];
}
mutableDictionary[newKey] = key;
}];
return [NSDictionary dictionaryWithDictionary:mutableDictionary];
}
#end
and...
#interface NSArray (Swapping)
- (NSArray *)arrayBySwappingKeyWithValue;
#end
#implementation NSArray (Swapping)
- (NSArray *)arrayBySwappingKeyWithValue
{
NSMutableArray *mutableArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithCapacity:self.count];
[self enumerateObjectsUsingBlock:^(id obj, NSUInteger idx, BOOL *stop) {
if ([obj isKindOfClass:[NSDictionary class]]) {
NSDictionary *newDict = [obj dictionaryBySwappingKeyWithValue];
mutableArray[idx] = newDict;
} else if ([obj isKindOfClass:[NSArray class]]) {
NSArray *newArray = [obj arrayBySwappingKeyWithValue];
mutableArray[idx] = newArray;
} else {
mutableArray[idx] = obj;
}
}];
return [NSArray arrayWithArray:mutableArray];
}
#end
As an example, assume you have a dictionary with the following structure:
UIView *view = [[UIView alloc] init];
NSDictionary *dict = #{#"1" : #"a",
#"2" : #[ #{ #"5" : #"b" } ],
#"3" : #{#"6" : #"c"},
#"7" : view};
NSDictionary *newDict = [dict dictionaryBySwappingKeyWithValue];
Printing the newDict object in the console will give you this output:
(lldb) po mutableDictionary
{
a = 1;
({b = 5;}) = 2;
{c = 6;} = 3;
"<30b50617>" = 7;
}
As you can see, not only have the keys and values been swapped at the first level of the hierarchy, but deep inside each collection.
"<30b50617>" represents the UIView object wrapped inside a NSValue. Since UIView does not comply to the NSCopying protocol, it needs to be handled this way if you want it to be a key in your collection.
Note: Code was done in a couple of minutes. Let me know if I missed something.

Answer 4

for (NSString *key in [myDictionary allKeys]) {
NSString *value = [responseDataDic objectForKey:key];
[myDictionary removeObjectForKey:key];
[myDictionary addObject:key forKey:value];
}
Assumption:
No key = value;
Complexity:
No extra space required. Will loop through once and replace all key value pairs.

Answer 5

NSArray* allKeys = [theDict allKeys];
NSArray* allValues = [theDict allValues];
NSMutableDictionary* newDict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithObjects:allKeys forKeys:allValues];