LRU cache implementation in Javascript

Question

Java has LinkedHashMap which gets you 99% there to an LRU cache.

Is there a Javascript implementation of an LRU cache, preferably from a reputable source, that is:

1. understandable
2. efficient (amortized O(1) get/put/delete)

? I've been searching on the web but couldn't find one; I thought I found one on Ajax Design Patterns but it glosses over the sendToTail() method and has O(n) performance (presumably, since the queue and associative array are split up).

I suppose I could write my own, but I've learned the hard way that reinventing the wheel for core algorithms can be hazardous to one's health :/

Answer 1

Map should be O(1) in most implementations average case. Since Map keeps insertion order, adding a bit of code around it will get you a LRU and for most uses this should be plenty fast.

I needed a simple LRU cache for a small number of expensive operations (1 second). I felt better about copy-pasting some small code rather than introducing something external, but since I didn't find it I wrote it:

class LRU {
    constructor(max = 10) {
        this.max = max;
        this.cache = new Map();
    }

    get(key) {
        let item = this.cache.get(key);
        if (item) {
            // refresh key
            this.cache.delete(key);
            this.cache.set(key, item);
        }
        return item;
    }

    set(key, val) {
        // refresh key
        if (this.cache.has(key)) this.cache.delete(key);
        // evict oldest
        else if (this.cache.size == this.max) this.cache.delete(this.first());
        this.cache.set(key, val);
    }

    first() {
        return this.cache.keys().next().value;
    }
}

Usage:

> let cache = new LRU(3)
> [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].forEach(v => cache.set(v, 'v:'+v))
> cache.get(2)
undefined
> cache.get(3)
"v:3"
> cache.set(6, 6)
> cache.get(4)
undefined
> cache.get(3)
"v:3"