How to determine equality for two JavaScript objects?

StackOverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/201183

Question

A strict equality operator will tell you if two object types are equal. However, is there a way to tell if two objects are equal, much like the hash code value in Java?

Stack Overflow question Is there any kind of hashCode function in JavaScript? is similar to this question, but requires a more academic answer. The scenario above demonstrates why it would be necessary to have one, and I'm wondering if there is any equivalent solution.

Was it helpful?

Solution

The short answer

The simple answer is: No, there is no generic means to determine that an object is equal to another in the sense you mean. The exception is when you are strictly thinking of an object being typeless.

The long answer

The concept is that of an Equals method that compares two different instances of an object to indicate whether they are equal at a value level. However, it is up to the specific type to define how an Equals method should be implemented. An iterative comparison of attributes that have primitive values may not be enough, there may well be attributes which are not to be considered part of the object value. For example,

 function MyClass(a, b)
 {
     var c;
     this.getCLazy = function() {
         if (c === undefined) c = a * b // imagine * is really expensive
         return c;
     }
  }

In this above case, c is not really important to determine whether any two instances of MyClass are equal, only a and b are important. In some cases c might vary between instances and yet not be significant during comparison.

Note this issue applies when members may themselves also be instances of a type and these each would all be required to have a means of determining equality.

Further complicating things is that in JavaScript the distinction between data and method is blurred.

An object may reference a method that is to be called as an event handler, and this would likely not be considered part of its 'value state'. Whereas another object may well be assigned a function that performs an important calculation and thereby makes this instance different from others simply because it references a different function.

What about an object that has one of its existing prototype methods overridden by another function? Could it still be considered equal to another instance that it otherwise identical? That question can only be answered in each specific case for each type.

As stated earlier, the exception would be a strictly typeless object. In which case the only sensible choice is an iterative and recursive comparison of each member. Even then one has to ask what is the 'value' of a function?

OTHER TIPS

Why reinvent the wheel? Give Lodash a try. It has a number of must-have functions such as isEqual().

_.isEqual(object, other);

It will brute force check each key value - just like the other examples on this page - using ECMAScript 5 and native optimizations if they're available in the browser.

Note: Previously this answer recommended Underscore.js, but lodash has done a better job of getting bugs fixed and addressing issues with consistency.

The default equality operator in JavaScript for Objects yields true when they refer to the same location in memory.

var x = {};
var y = {};
var z = x;

x === y; // => false
x === z; // => true

If you require a different equality operator you'll need to add an equals(other) method, or something like it to your classes and the specifics of your problem domain will determine what exactly that means.

Here's a playing card example:

function Card(rank, suit) {
  this.rank = rank;
  this.suit = suit;
  this.equals = function(other) {
     return other.rank == this.rank && other.suit == this.suit;
  };
}

var queenOfClubs = new Card(12, "C");
var kingOfSpades = new Card(13, "S");

queenOfClubs.equals(kingOfSpades); // => false
kingOfSpades.equals(new Card(13, "S")); // => true

If you are working in AngularJS, the angular.equals function will determine if two objects are equal. In Ember.js use isEqual.

  • angular.equals - See the docs or source for more on this method. It does a deep compare on arrays too.
  • Ember.js isEqual - See the docs or source for more on this method. It does not do a deep compare on arrays.

var purple = [{"purple": "drank"}];
var drank = [{"purple": "drank"}];

if(angular.equals(purple, drank)) {
    document.write('got dat');
}
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angularjs/1.4.5/angular.min.js"></script>

This is my version. It is using new Object.keys feature that is introduced in ES5 and ideas/tests from +, + and +:

function objectEquals(x, y) {
    'use strict';

    if (x === null || x === undefined || y === null || y === undefined) { return x === y; }
    // after this just checking type of one would be enough
    if (x.constructor !== y.constructor) { return false; }
    // if they are functions, they should exactly refer to same one (because of closures)
    if (x instanceof Function) { return x === y; }
    // if they are regexps, they should exactly refer to same one (it is hard to better equality check on current ES)
    if (x instanceof RegExp) { return x === y; }
    if (x === y || x.valueOf() === y.valueOf()) { return true; }
    if (Array.isArray(x) && x.length !== y.length) { return false; }

    // if they are dates, they must had equal valueOf
    if (x instanceof Date) { return false; }

    // if they are strictly equal, they both need to be object at least
    if (!(x instanceof Object)) { return false; }
    if (!(y instanceof Object)) { return false; }

    // recursive object equality check
    var p = Object.keys(x);
    return Object.keys(y).every(function (i) { return p.indexOf(i) !== -1; }) &&
        p.every(function (i) { return objectEquals(x[i], y[i]); });
}


///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/// The borrowed tests, run them by clicking "Run code snippet"
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
var printResult = function (x) {
    if (x) { document.write('<div style="color: green;">Passed</div>'); }
    else { document.write('<div style="color: red;">Failed</div>'); }
};
var assert = { isTrue: function (x) { printResult(x); }, isFalse: function (x) { printResult(!x); } }
assert.isTrue(objectEquals(null,null));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals(null,undefined));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals(/abc/, /abc/));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals(/abc/, /123/));
var r = /abc/;
assert.isTrue(objectEquals(r, r));

assert.isTrue(objectEquals("hi","hi"));
assert.isTrue(objectEquals(5,5));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals(5,10));

assert.isTrue(objectEquals([],[]));
assert.isTrue(objectEquals([1,2],[1,2]));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals([1,2],[2,1]));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals([1,2],[1,2,3]));

assert.isTrue(objectEquals({},{}));
assert.isTrue(objectEquals({a:1,b:2},{a:1,b:2}));
assert.isTrue(objectEquals({a:1,b:2},{b:2,a:1}));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals({a:1,b:2},{a:1,b:3}));

assert.isTrue(objectEquals({1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:26}},{1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:26}}));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals({1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:26}},{1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:27}}));

Object.prototype.equals = function (obj) { return objectEquals(this, obj); };
var assertFalse = assert.isFalse,
    assertTrue = assert.isTrue;

assertFalse({}.equals(null));
assertFalse({}.equals(undefined));

assertTrue("hi".equals("hi"));
assertTrue(new Number(5).equals(5));
assertFalse(new Number(5).equals(10));
assertFalse(new Number(1).equals("1"));

assertTrue([].equals([]));
assertTrue([1,2].equals([1,2]));
assertFalse([1,2].equals([2,1]));
assertFalse([1,2].equals([1,2,3]));
assertTrue(new Date("2011-03-31").equals(new Date("2011-03-31")));
assertFalse(new Date("2011-03-31").equals(new Date("1970-01-01")));

assertTrue({}.equals({}));
assertTrue({a:1,b:2}.equals({a:1,b:2}));
assertTrue({a:1,b:2}.equals({b:2,a:1}));
assertFalse({a:1,b:2}.equals({a:1,b:3}));

assertTrue({1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:26}}.equals({1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:26}}));
assertFalse({1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:26}}.equals({1:{name:"mhc",age:28}, 2:{name:"arb",age:27}}));

var a = {a: 'text', b:[0,1]};
var b = {a: 'text', b:[0,1]};
var c = {a: 'text', b: 0};
var d = {a: 'text', b: false};
var e = {a: 'text', b:[1,0]};
var i = {
    a: 'text',
    c: {
        b: [1, 0]
    }
};
var j = {
    a: 'text',
    c: {
        b: [1, 0]
    }
};
var k = {a: 'text', b: null};
var l = {a: 'text', b: undefined};

assertTrue(a.equals(b));
assertFalse(a.equals(c));
assertFalse(c.equals(d));
assertFalse(a.equals(e));
assertTrue(i.equals(j));
assertFalse(d.equals(k));
assertFalse(k.equals(l));

// from comments on stackoverflow post
assert.isFalse(objectEquals([1, 2, undefined], [1, 2]));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals([1, 2, 3], { 0: 1, 1: 2, 2: 3 }));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals(new Date(1234), 1234));

// no two different function is equal really, they capture their context variables
// so even if they have same toString(), they won't have same functionality
var func = function (x) { return true; };
var func2 = function (x) { return true; };
assert.isTrue(objectEquals(func, func));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals(func, func2));
assert.isTrue(objectEquals({ a: { b: func } }, { a: { b: func } }));
assert.isFalse(objectEquals({ a: { b: func } }, { a: { b: func2 } }));

If you are using a JSON library, you can encode each object as JSON, then compare the resulting strings for equality.

var obj1={test:"value"};
var obj2={test:"value2"};

alert(JSON.encode(obj1)===JSON.encode(obj2));

NOTE: While this answer will work in many cases, as several people have pointed out in the comments it's problematic for a variety of reasons. In pretty much all cases you'll want to find a more robust solution.

Short functional deepEqual implementation:

function deepEqual(x, y) {
  return (x && y && typeof x === 'object' && typeof y === 'object') ?
    (Object.keys(x).length === Object.keys(y).length) &&
      Object.keys(x).reduce(function(isEqual, key) {
        return isEqual && deepEqual(x[key], y[key]);
      }, true) : (x === y);
}

Edit: version 2, using jib's suggestion and ES6 arrow functions:

function deepEqual(x, y) {
  const ok = Object.keys, tx = typeof x, ty = typeof y;
  return x && y && tx === 'object' && tx === ty ? (
    ok(x).length === ok(y).length &&
      ok(x).every(key => deepEqual(x[key], y[key]))
  ) : (x === y);
}

If you have a deep copy function handy, you can use the following trick to still use JSON.stringify while matching the order of properties:

function equals(obj1, obj2) {
    function _equals(obj1, obj2) {
        return JSON.stringify(obj1)
            === JSON.stringify($.extend(true, {}, obj1, obj2));
    }
    return _equals(obj1, obj2) && _equals(obj2, obj1);
}

Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/CU3vb/3/

Rationale:

Since the properties of obj1 are copied to the clone one by one, their order in the clone will be preserved. And when the properties of obj2 are copied to the clone, since properties already existing in obj1 will simply be overwritten, their orders in the clone will be preserved.

Are you trying to test if two objects are the equal? ie: their properties are equal?

If this is the case, you'll probably have noticed this situation:

var a = { foo : "bar" };
var b = { foo : "bar" };
alert (a == b ? "Equal" : "Not equal");
// "Not equal"

you might have to do something like this:

function objectEquals(obj1, obj2) {
    for (var i in obj1) {
        if (obj1.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
            if (!obj2.hasOwnProperty(i)) return false;
            if (obj1[i] != obj2[i]) return false;
        }
    }
    for (var i in obj2) {
        if (obj2.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
            if (!obj1.hasOwnProperty(i)) return false;
            if (obj1[i] != obj2[i]) return false;
        }
    }
    return true;
}

Obviously that function could do with quite a bit of optimisation, and the ability to do deep checking (to handle nested objects: var a = { foo : { fu : "bar" } }) but you get the idea.

As FOR pointed out, you might have to adapt this for your own purposes, eg: different classes may have different definitions of "equal". If you're just working with plain objects, the above may suffice, otherwise a custom MyClass.equals() function may be the way to go.

Simplest and logical solutions for comparing everything Like Object, Array, String, Int...

JSON.stringify({a: val1}) === JSON.stringify({a: val2})

Note:

  • you need to replace val1and val2 with your Object
  • for the object, you have to sort(by key) recursively for both side objects

In Node.js, you can use its native require("assert").deepEqual. More info: http://nodejs.org/api/assert.html

For example:

var assert = require("assert");
assert.deepEqual({a:1, b:2}, {a:1, b:3}); // will throw AssertionError

Another example that returns true / false instead of returning errors:

var assert = require("assert");

function deepEqual(a, b) {
    try {
      assert.deepEqual(a, b);
    } catch (error) {
      if (error.name === "AssertionError") {
        return false;
      }
      throw error;
    }
    return true;
};

I use this comparable function to produce copies of my objects that are JSON comparable:

var comparable = o => (typeof o != 'object' || !o)? o :
  Object.keys(o).sort().reduce((c, key) => (c[key] = comparable(o[key]), c), {});

// Demo:

var a = { a: 1, c: 4, b: [2, 3], d: { e: '5', f: null } };
var b = { b: [2, 3], c: 4, d: { f: null, e: '5' }, a: 1 };

console.log(JSON.stringify(comparable(a)));
console.log(JSON.stringify(comparable(b)));
console.log(JSON.stringify(comparable(a)) == JSON.stringify(comparable(b)));
<div id="div"></div>

Comes in handy in tests (most test frameworks have an is function). E.g.

is(JSON.stringify(comparable(x)), JSON.stringify(comparable(y)), 'x must match y');

If a difference is caught, strings get logged, making differences spottable:

x must match y
got      {"a":1,"b":{"0":2,"1":3},"c":7,"d":{"e":"5","f":null}},
expected {"a":1,"b":{"0":2,"1":3},"c":4,"d":{"e":"5","f":null}}.

Heres's a solution in ES6/ES2015 using a functional-style approach:

const typeOf = x => 
  ({}).toString
      .call(x)
      .match(/\[object (\w+)\]/)[1]

function areSimilar(a, b) {
  const everyKey = f => Object.keys(a).every(f)

  switch(typeOf(a)) {
    case 'Array':
      return a.length === b.length &&
        everyKey(k => areSimilar(a.sort()[k], b.sort()[k]));
    case 'Object':
      return Object.keys(a).length === Object.keys(b).length &&
        everyKey(k => areSimilar(a[k], b[k]));
    default:
      return a === b;
  }
}

demo available here

I don't know if anyone's posted anything similar to this, but here's a function I made to check for object equalities.

function objectsAreEqual(a, b) {
  for (var prop in a) {
    if (a.hasOwnProperty(prop)) {
      if (b.hasOwnProperty(prop)) {
        if (typeof a[prop] === 'object') {
          if (!objectsAreEqual(a[prop], b[prop])) return false;
        } else {
          if (a[prop] !== b[prop]) return false;
        }
      } else {
        return false;
      }
    }
  }
  return true;
}

Also, it's recursive, so it can also check for deep equality, if that's what you call it.

you can use _.isEqual(obj1, obj2) from the underscore.js library.

Here is an example:

var stooge = {name: 'moe', luckyNumbers: [13, 27, 34]};
var clone  = {name: 'moe', luckyNumbers: [13, 27, 34]};
stooge == clone;
=> false
_.isEqual(stooge, clone);
=> true

See the official documentation from here: http://underscorejs.org/#isEqual

A simple solution to this issue that many people don't realize is to sort the JSON strings (per character). This is also usually faster than the other solutions mentioned here:

function areEqual(obj1, obj2) {
    var a = JSON.stringify(obj1), b = JSON.stringify(obj2);
    if (!a) a = '';
    if (!b) b = '';
    return (a.split('').sort().join('') == b.split('').sort().join(''));
}

Another useful thing about this method is you can filter comparisons by passing a "replacer" function to the JSON.stringify functions (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/stringify#Example_of_using_replacer_parameter). The following will only compare all objects keys that are named "derp":

function areEqual(obj1, obj2, filter) {
    var a = JSON.stringify(obj1, filter), b = JSON.stringify(obj2, filter);
    if (!a) a = '';
    if (!b) b = '';
    return (a.split('').sort().join('') == b.split('').sort().join(''));
}
var equal = areEqual(obj1, obj2, function(key, value) {
    return (key === 'derp') ? value : undefined;
});

I'd advise against hashing or serialization (as the JSON solution suggest). If you need to test if two objects are equal, then you need to define what equals means. It could be that all data members in both objects match, or it could be that must the memory locations match (meaning both variables reference the same object in memory), or may be that only one data member in each object must match.

Recently I developed an object whose constructor creates a new id (starting from 1 and incrementing by 1) each time an instance is created. This object has an isEqual function that compares that id value with the id value of another object and returns true if they match.

In that case I defined "equal" as meaning the the id values match. Given that each instance has a unique id this could be used to enforce the idea that matching objects also occupy the same memory location. Although that is not necessary.

Needing a more generic object comparison function than had been posted, I cooked up the following. Critique appreciated...

Object.prototype.equals = function(iObj) {
  if (this.constructor !== iObj.constructor)
    return false;
  var aMemberCount = 0;
  for (var a in this) {
    if (!this.hasOwnProperty(a))
      continue;
    if (typeof this[a] === 'object' && typeof iObj[a] === 'object' ? !this[a].equals(iObj[a]) : this[a] !== iObj[a])
      return false;
    ++aMemberCount;
  }
  for (var a in iObj)
    if (iObj.hasOwnProperty(a))
      --aMemberCount;
  return aMemberCount ? false : true;
}

If you are comparing JSON objects you can use https://github.com/mirek/node-rus-diff

npm install rus-diff

Usage:

a = {foo:{bar:1}}
b = {foo:{bar:1}}
c = {foo:{bar:2}}

var rusDiff = require('rus-diff').rusDiff

console.log(rusDiff(a, b)) // -> false, meaning a and b are equal
console.log(rusDiff(a, c)) // -> { '$set': { 'foo.bar': 2 } }

If two objects are different, a MongoDB compatible {$rename:{...}, $unset:{...}, $set:{...}} like object is returned.

I faced the same problem and deccided to write my own solution. But because I want to also compare Arrays with Objects and vice-versa, I crafted a generic solution. I decided to add the functions to the prototype, but one can easily rewrite them to standalone functions. Here is the code:

Array.prototype.equals = Object.prototype.equals = function(b) {
    var ar = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(b));
    var err = false;
    for(var key in this) {
        if(this.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
            var found = ar.find(this[key]);
            if(found > -1) {
                if(Object.prototype.toString.call(ar) === "[object Object]") {
                    delete ar[Object.keys(ar)[found]];
                }
                else {
                    ar.splice(found, 1);
                }
            }
            else {
                err = true;
                break;
            }
        }
    };
    if(Object.keys(ar).length > 0 || err) {
        return false;
    }
    return true;
}

Array.prototype.find = Object.prototype.find = function(v) {
    var f = -1;
    for(var i in this) {
        if(this.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
            if(Object.prototype.toString.call(this[i]) === "[object Array]" || Object.prototype.toString.call(this[i]) === "[object Object]") {
                if(this[i].equals(v)) {
                    f = (typeof(i) == "number") ? i : Object.keys(this).indexOf(i);
                }
            }
            else if(this[i] === v) {
                f = (typeof(i) == "number") ? i : Object.keys(this).indexOf(i);
            }
        }
    }
    return f;
}

This Algorithm is split into two parts; The equals function itself and a function to find the numeric index of a property in an array / object. The find function is only needed because indexof only finds numbers and strings and no objects .

One can call it like this:

({a: 1, b: "h"}).equals({a: 1, b: "h"});

The function either returns true or false, in this case true. The algorithm als allows comparison between very complex objects:

({a: 1, b: "hello", c: ["w", "o", "r", "l", "d", {answer1: "should be", answer2: true}]}).equals({b: "hello", a: 1, c: ["w", "d", "o", "r", {answer1: "should be", answer2: true}, "l"]})

The upper example will return true, even tho the properties have a different ordering. One small detail to look out for: This code also checks for the same type of two variables, so "3" is not the same as 3.

Just wanted to contribute my version of objects comparison utilizing some es6 features. It doesn't take an order into account. After converting all if/else's to ternary I've came with following:

function areEqual(obj1, obj2) {

    return Object.keys(obj1).every(key => {

            return obj2.hasOwnProperty(key) ?
                typeof obj1[key] === 'object' ?
                    areEqual(obj1[key], obj2[key]) :
                obj1[key] === obj2[key] :
                false;

        }
    )
}

It's useful to consider two objects equal if they have all the same values for all properties and recursively for all nested objects and arrays. I also consider the following two objects equal:

var a = {p1: 1};
var b = {p1: 1, p2: undefined};

Similarly, arrays can have "missing" elements and undefined elements. I would treat those the same as well:

var c = [1, 2];
var d = [1, 2, undefined];

A function that implements this definition of equality:

function isEqual(a, b) {
    if (a === b) {
        return true;
    }

    if (generalType(a) != generalType(b)) {
        return false;
    }

    if (a == b) {
        return true;
    }

    if (typeof a != 'object') {
        return false;
    }

    // null != {}
    if (a instanceof Object != b instanceof Object) {
        return false;
    }

    if (a instanceof Date || b instanceof Date) {
        if (a instanceof Date != b instanceof Date ||
            a.getTime() != b.getTime()) {
            return false;
        }
    }

    var allKeys = [].concat(keys(a), keys(b));
    uniqueArray(allKeys);

    for (var i = 0; i < allKeys.length; i++) {
        var prop = allKeys[i];
        if (!isEqual(a[prop], b[prop])) {
            return false;
        }
    }
    return true;
}

Source code (including the helper functions, generalType and uniqueArray): Unit Test and Test Runner here.

I'm making the following assumptions with this function:

  1. You control the objects you are comparing and you only have primitive values (ie. not nested objects, functions, etc.).
  2. Your browser has support for Object.keys.

This should be treated as a demonstration of a simple strategy.

/**
 * Checks the equality of two objects that contain primitive values. (ie. no nested objects, functions, etc.)
 * @param {Object} object1
 * @param {Object} object2
 * @param {Boolean} [order_matters] Affects the return value of unordered objects. (ex. {a:1, b:2} and {b:2, a:1}).
 * @returns {Boolean}
 */
function isEqual( object1, object2, order_matters ) {
    var keys1 = Object.keys(object1),
        keys2 = Object.keys(object2),
        i, key;

    // Test 1: Same number of elements
    if( keys1.length != keys2.length ) {
        return false;
    }

    // If order doesn't matter isEqual({a:2, b:1}, {b:1, a:2}) should return true.
    // keys1 = Object.keys({a:2, b:1}) = ["a","b"];
    // keys2 = Object.keys({b:1, a:2}) = ["b","a"];
    // This is why we are sorting keys1 and keys2.
    if( !order_matters ) {
        keys1.sort();
        keys2.sort();
    }

    // Test 2: Same keys
    for( i = 0; i < keys1.length; i++ ) {
        if( keys1[i] != keys2[i] ) {
            return false;
        }
    }

    // Test 3: Values
    for( i = 0; i < keys1.length; i++ ) {
        key = keys1[i];
        if( object1[key] != object2[key] ) {
            return false;
        }
    }

    return true;
}

This is an addition for all the above, not a replacement. If you need to fast shallow-compare objects without need to check extra recursive cases. Here is a shot.

This compares for: 1) Equality of number of own properties, 2) Equality of key names, 3) if bCompareValues == true, Equality of corresponding property values and their types (triple equality)

var shallowCompareObjects = function(o1, o2, bCompareValues) {
    var s, 
        n1 = 0,
        n2 = 0,
        b  = true;

    for (s in o1) { n1 ++; }
    for (s in o2) { 
        if (!o1.hasOwnProperty(s)) {
            b = false;
            break;
        }
        if (bCompareValues && o1[s] !== o2[s]) {
            b = false;
            break;
        }
        n2 ++;
    }
    return b && n1 == n2;
}

For comparing keys for simple key/value pairs object instances, I use:

function compareKeys(r1, r2) {
    var nloops = 0, score = 0;
    for(k1 in r1) {
        for(k2 in r2) {
            nloops++;
            if(k1 == k2)
                score++; 
        }
    }
    return nloops == (score * score);
};

Once keys are compared, a simple additional for..in loop is enough.

Complexity is O(N*N) with N is the number of keys.

I hope/guess objects I define won't hold more than 1000 properties...

I know this is a bit old, but I would like to add a solution that I came up with for this problem. I had an object and I wanted to know when its data changed. "something similar to Object.observe" and what I did was:

function checkObjects(obj,obj2){
   var values = [];
   var keys = [];
   keys = Object.keys(obj);
   keys.forEach(function(key){
      values.push(key);
   });
   var values2 = [];
   var keys2 = [];
   keys2 = Object.keys(obj2);
   keys2.forEach(function(key){
      values2.push(key);
   });
   return (values == values2 && keys == keys2)
}

This here can be duplicated and create an other set of arrays to compare the values and keys. It is very simple because they are now arrays and will return false if objects have different sizes.

Pulling out from my personal library, which i use for my work repeatedly. The following function is a lenient recursive deep equal, which does not check

  • Class equality
  • Inherited values
  • Values strict equality

I mainly use this to check if i get equal replies against various API implementation. Where implementation difference (like string vs number) and additional null values, can occur.

Its implementation is quite straightforward and short (if all the comments is stripped off)

/** Recursively check if both objects are equal in value
***
*** This function is designed to use multiple methods from most probable 
*** (and in most cases) valid, to the more regid and complex method.
***
*** One of the main principles behind the various check is that while
*** some of the simpler checks such as == or JSON may cause false negatives,
*** they do not cause false positives. As such they can be safely run first.
***
*** # !Important Note:
*** as this function is designed for simplified deep equal checks it is not designed
*** for the following
***
*** - Class equality, (ClassA().a = 1) maybe valid to (ClassB().b = 1)
*** - Inherited values, this actually ignores them
*** - Values being strictly equal, "1" is equal to 1 (see the basic equality check on this)
*** - Performance across all cases. This is designed for high performance on the
***   most probable cases of == / JSON equality. Consider bench testing, if you have
***   more 'complex' requirments
***
*** @param  objA : First object to compare
*** @param  objB : 2nd object to compare
*** @param  .... : Any other objects to compare
***
*** @returns true if all equals, or false if invalid
***
*** @license Copyright by eugene@picoded.com, 2012.
***          Licensed under the MIT license: http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
**/
function simpleRecusiveDeepEqual(objA, objB) {
	// Multiple comparision check
	//--------------------------------------------
	var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
	if(args.length > 2) {
		for(var a=1; a<args.length; ++a) {
			if(!simpleRecusiveDeepEqual(args[a-1], args[a])) {
				return false;
			}
		}
		return true;
	} else if(args.length < 2) {
		throw "simpleRecusiveDeepEqual, requires atleast 2 arguments";
	}
	
	// basic equality check,
	//--------------------------------------------
	// if this succed the 2 basic values is equal,
	// such as numbers and string.
	//
	// or its actually the same object pointer. Bam
	//
	// Note that if string and number strictly equal is required
	// change the equality from ==, to ===
	//
	if(objA == objB) {
		return true;
	}
	
	// If a value is a bsic type, and failed above. This fails
	var basicTypes = ["boolean", "number", "string"];
	if( basicTypes.indexOf(typeof objA) >= 0 || basicTypes.indexOf(typeof objB) >= 0 ) {
		return false;
	}
	
	// JSON equality check,
	//--------------------------------------------
	// this can fail, if the JSON stringify the objects in the wrong order
	// for example the following may fail, due to different string order:
	//
	// JSON.stringify( {a:1, b:2} ) == JSON.stringify( {b:2, a:1} )
	//
	if(JSON.stringify(objA) == JSON.stringify(objB)) {
		return true;
	}
	
	// Array equality check
	//--------------------------------------------
	// This is performed prior to iteration check,
	// Without this check the following would have been considered valid
	//
	// simpleRecusiveDeepEqual( { 0:1963 }, [1963] );
	//
	// Note that u may remove this segment if this is what is intended
	//
	if( Array.isArray(objA) ) {
		//objA is array, objB is not an array
		if( !Array.isArray(objB) ) {
			return false;
		}
	} else if( Array.isArray(objB) ) {
		//objA is not array, objB is an array
		return false;
	}
	
	// Nested values iteration
	//--------------------------------------------
	// Scan and iterate all the nested values, and check for non equal values recusively
	//
	// Note that this does not check against null equality, remove the various "!= null"
	// if this is required
	
	var i; //reuse var to iterate
	
	// Check objA values against objB
	for (i in objA) {
		//Protect against inherited properties
		if(objA.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
			if(objB.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
				// Check if deep equal is valid
				if(!simpleRecusiveDeepEqual( objA[i], objB[i] )) {
					return false;
				}
			} else if(objA[i] != null) {
				//ignore null values in objA, that objB does not have
				//else fails
				return false;
			}
		}
	}
	
	// Check if objB has additional values, that objA do not, fail if so
	for (i in objB) {
		if(objB.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
			if(objB[i] != null && !objA.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
				//ignore null values in objB, that objA does not have
				//else fails
				return false;
			}
		}
	}
	
	// End of all checks
	//--------------------------------------------
	// By reaching here, all iteration scans have been done.
	// and should have returned false if it failed
	return true;
}

// Sanity checking of simpleRecusiveDeepEqual
(function() {
	if(
		// Basic checks
		!simpleRecusiveDeepEqual({}, {}) ||
		!simpleRecusiveDeepEqual([], []) ||
		!simpleRecusiveDeepEqual(['a'], ['a']) ||
		// Not strict checks
		!simpleRecusiveDeepEqual("1", 1) ||
		// Multiple objects check
		!simpleRecusiveDeepEqual( { a:[1,2] }, { a:[1,2] }, { a:[1,2] } ) ||
		// Ensure distinction between array and object (the following should fail)
		simpleRecusiveDeepEqual( [1963], { 0:1963 } ) ||
		// Null strict checks
		simpleRecusiveDeepEqual( 0, null ) ||
		simpleRecusiveDeepEqual( "", null ) ||
		// Last "false" exists to make the various check above easy to comment in/out
		false
	) {
		alert("FATAL ERROR: simpleRecusiveDeepEqual failed basic checks");
	} else { 
		//added this last line, for SO snippet alert on success
		alert("simpleRecusiveDeepEqual: Passed all checks, Yays!");
	}
})();

Here's a version of the stringify trick that is less typing and works in a lot of cases for trivial JSON data comparisons. 

var obj1Fingerprint = JSON.stringify(obj1).replace(/\{|\}/g,'').split(',').sort().join(',');
var obj2Fingerprint = JSON.stringify(obj2).replace(/\{|\}/g,'').split(',').sort().join(',');
if ( obj1Fingerprint === obj2Fingerprint) { ... } else { ... }

I see spaghetti code answers. Without using any third party libs, this is very easy.

Firstly sort the two objects by key their key names.

let objectOne = { hey, you }
let objectTwo = { you, hey }

// If you really wanted you could make this recursive for deep sort.
const sortObjectByKeyname = (objectToSort) => {
    return Object.keys(objectToSort).sort().reduce((r, k) => (r[k] = objectToSort[k], r), {});
}

let objectOne = sortObjectByKeyname(objectOne)
let objectTwo = sortObjectByKeyname(objectTwo)

Then simply use a string to compare them.

JSON.stringify(objectOne) === JSON.stringify(objectTwo)

For those of you using NodeJS, there is a convenient method called isDeepStrictEqual on the native Util library that can achieve this.

const util = require('util');

const foo = {
  hey: "ho",
  lets: "go"
}

const bar = {
  hey: "ho",
  lets: "go"
}

foo == bar // false
util.isDeepStrictEqual(foo, bar) // true

https://nodejs.org/api/util.html#util_util_isdeepstrictequal_val1_val2

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