Why do some people use table[index + 1] instead of table.insert?

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#41

Technically, with generalized iteration you don’t have to use either

#42

they are both the same, though technically index could be a specific value that needs to be asserted rather than just placing into table with .insert

as for this, I tend to do this when the index isnt a number value like

table[playerInstance] = nil

from what i remember you cant table.remove an instance index? I think its because there is no number value, i could be wrong but that is what I’ve stuck with so I believe this is the case.

#43

You mean you can just use like next() or just:

--Example code

for i,v in t do
   --code here
end
#44

Glad to see this post having a lot of answers.

(This is my new account, previously @AridFights1; OP of the post)

Over the past year, I have learnt a lot, so here’s my ultimate summary of this entire post.

Difference between array and dictionary

Normally, tables look like this:

local Table = {} :: { [any]: any }

When these tables have indices which are numbers, they are known as “arrays”.

local Array = {} :: { [number]: any }

But when tables contain indices which are numbers, strings, objects etc. they are known as dictionaries.

local Dictionary = {} :: { [number | string | any]: any }
table.insert behaviour

If you insert a value using table.insert and remove it using table.remove it will remove the unused index and organize items accordingly.

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Code:

local Sample = {}

local function PrintTable(t: {})
	for i, v in t do
		print(`[{i}]: {v}`)
	end
end

for i = 1, 5 do
	table.insert(Sample, i)
end

PrintTable(Sample)

table.remove(Sample, 3)

print("--------\nRemoved\n--------")

PrintTable(Sample)
Normal indexing behaviour

As you can see, after setting the unused index to nil, it does not appear anymore in the output, but the other indexes stay the exact same.

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image737×392 22.6 KB

Code:

local Sample = {}

local function PrintTable(t: {})
	for i, v in t do
		print(`[{i}]: {v}`)
	end
end

for i = 1, 5 do
	Sample[#Sample + 1] = i
end

PrintTable(Sample)

Sample[3] = nil

print("--------\nRemoved\n--------")

PrintTable(Sample)

Overall, I’d recommend you use table.insert and table.remove unless you’re working with specific indexes.