Get index of array element faster than O(n)

Given I have a HUGE array, and a value from it. I want to get index of the value in array. Is there any other way, rather then call Array#index to get it? The problem comes from the need of keeping really huge array and calling Array#index enormous amount of times.

After a couple of tries I found that caching indexes inside elements by storing structs with (value, index) fields instead of the value itself gives a huge step in performance (20x times win).

Still I wonder if there's a more convenient way of finding index of en element without caching (or there's a good caching technique that will boost up the performance).

Why not use index or rindex?

array = %w( a b c d e)
# get FIRST index of element searched
puts array.index('a')
# get LAST index of element searched
puts array.rindex('a')

> index: http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.3/Array.html#method-i-index

> rindex: http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.3/Array.html#method-i-rindex

Convert the array into a hash. Then look for the key.

array = ['a', 'b', 'c']
hash = Hash[array.map.with_index.to_a]    # => {"a"=>0, "b"=>1, "c"=>2}
hash['b'] # => 1

Other answers don't take into account the possibility of an entry listed multiple times in an array. This will return a hash where each key is a unique object in the array and each value is an array of indices that corresponds to where the object lives:

a = [1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4]
=> [1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4]

indices = a.each_with_index.inject(Hash.new { Array.new }) do |hash, (obj, i)| 
    hash[obj] += [i]
    hash
end
=> { 1 => [0, 3], 2 => [1, 4], 3 => [2, 5], 4 => [6] }

This allows for a quick search for duplicate entries:

indices.select { |k, v| v.size > 1 }
=> { 1 => [0, 3], 2 => [1, 4], 3 => [2, 5] }

Is there a good reason not to use a hash? Lookups are O(1) vs. O(n) for the array.

If it's a sorted array you could use a Binary search algorithm (O(log n)). For example, extending the Array-class with this functionality:

class Array
  def b_search(e, l = 0, u = length - 1)
    return if lower_index > upper_index

    midpoint_index = (lower_index + upper_index) / 2
    return midpoint_index if self[midpoint_index] == value

    if value < self[midpoint_index]
      b_search(value, lower_index, upper_index - 1)
    else
      b_search(value, lower_index + 1, upper_index)
    end
  end
end

If your array has a natural order use binary search.

Use binary search.

Binary search has O(log n) access time.

Here are the steps on how to use binary search,

• What is the ordering of you array? For example, is it sorted by name?
• Use bsearch to find elements or indices

Code example

# assume array is sorted by name!

array.bsearch { |each| "Jamie" <=> each.name } # returns element
(0..array.size).bsearch { |n| "Jamie" <=> array[n].name } # returns index

Taking a combination of @sawa's answer and the comment listed there you could implement a "quick" index and rindex on the array class.

class Array
  def quick_index el
    hash = Hash[self.map.with_index.to_a]
    hash[el]
  end

  def quick_rindex el
    hash = Hash[self.reverse.map.with_index.to_a]
    array.length - 1 - hash[el]
  end
end

> Still I wonder if there's a more convenient way of finding index of en element without caching (or there's a good caching technique that will boost up the performance).

You can use binary search (if your array is ordered and the values you store in the array are comparable in some way). For that to work you need to be able to tell the binary search whether it should be looking "to the left" or "to the right" of the current element. But I believe there is nothing wrong with storing the index at insertion time and then using it if you are getting the element from the same array.