unique object identifier in javascript

Question

Update My original answer below was written 6 years ago in a style befitting the times and my understanding. In response to some conversation in the comments, a more modern approach to this is as follows:

    (function() {
        if ( typeof Object.id == "undefined" ) {
            var id = 0;

            Object.id = function(o) {
                if ( typeof o.__uniqueid == "undefined" ) {
                    Object.defineProperty(o, "__uniqueid", {
                        value: ++id,
                        enumerable: false,
                        // This could go either way, depending on your 
                        // interpretation of what an "id" is
                        writable: false
                    });
                }

                return o.__uniqueid;
            };
        }
    })();
    
    var obj = { a: 1, b: 1 };
    
    console.log(Object.id(obj));
    console.log(Object.id([]));
    console.log(Object.id({}));
    console.log(Object.id(/./));
    console.log(Object.id(function() {}));

    for (var k in obj) {
        if (obj.hasOwnProperty(k)) {
            console.log(k);
        }
    }
    // Logged keys are `a` and `b`

If you have archaic browser requirements, check here for browser compatibility for Object.defineProperty.

The original answer is kept below (instead of just in the change history) because I think the comparison is valuable.

---

You can give the following a spin. This also gives you the option to explicitly set an object's ID in its constructor or elsewhere.

    (function() {
        if ( typeof Object.prototype.uniqueId == "undefined" ) {
            var id = 0;
            Object.prototype.uniqueId = function() {
                if ( typeof this.__uniqueid == "undefined" ) {
                    this.__uniqueid = ++id;
                }
                return this.__uniqueid;
            };
        }
    })();
    
    var obj1 = {};
    var obj2 = new Object();
    
    console.log(obj1.uniqueId());
    console.log(obj2.uniqueId());
    console.log([].uniqueId());
    console.log({}.uniqueId());
    console.log(/./.uniqueId());
    console.log((function() {}).uniqueId());

Take care to make sure that whatever member you use to internally store the unique ID doesn't collide with another automatically created member name.

So far as my observation goes, any answer posted here can have unexpected side effects.

In ES2015-compatible enviroment, you can avoid any side effects by using WeakMap.

const id = (() => {
    let currentId = 0;
    const map = new WeakMap();

    return (object) => {
        if (!map.has(object)) {
            map.set(object, ++currentId);
        }

        return map.get(object);
    };
})();

id({}); //=> 1

Latest browsers provide a cleaner method for extending Object.prototype. This code will make the property hidden from property enumeration (for p in o)

For the browsers that implement defineProperty, you can implement uniqueId property like this:

(function() {
    var id_counter = 1;
    Object.defineProperty(Object.prototype, "__uniqueId", {
        writable: true
    });
    Object.defineProperty(Object.prototype, "uniqueId", {
        get: function() {
            if (this.__uniqueId == undefined)
                this.__uniqueId = id_counter++;
            return this.__uniqueId;
        }
    });
}());

For details, see https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/defineProperty

Actually, you don't need to modify the object prototype and add a function there. The following should work well for your purpose.

var __next_objid=1;
function objectId(obj) {
    if (obj==null) return null;
    if (obj.__obj_id==null) obj.__obj_id=__next_objid++;
    return obj.__obj_id;
}

For browsers implementing the Object.defineProperty() method, the code below generates and returns a function that you can bind to any object you own.

This approach has the advantage of not extending Object.prototype.

The code works by checking if the given object has a __objectID__ property, and by defining it as a hidden (non-enumerable) read-only property if not.

So it is safe against any attempt to change or redefine the read-only obj.__objectID__ property after it has been defined, and consistently throws a nice error instead of silently fail.

Finally, in the quite extreme case where some other code would already have defined __objectID__ on a given object, this value would simply be returned.

var getObjectID = (function () {

    var id = 0;    // Private ID counter

    return function (obj) {

         if(obj.hasOwnProperty("__objectID__")) {
             return obj.__objectID__;

         } else {

             ++id;
             Object.defineProperty(obj, "__objectID__", {

                 /*
                  * Explicitly sets these two attribute values to false,
                  * although they are false by default.
                  */
                 "configurable" : false,
                 "enumerable" :   false,

                 /* 
                  * This closure guarantees that different objects
                  * will not share the same id variable.
                  */
                 "get" : (function (__objectID__) {
                     return function () { return __objectID__; };
                  })(id),

                 "set" : function () {
                     throw new Error("Sorry, but 'obj.__objectID__' is read-only!");
                 }
             });

             return obj.__objectID__;

         }
    };

})();

Typescript version of @justin answer, ES6 compatible, using Symbols to prevent any key collision and added into the global Object.id for convenience. Just copy paste the code below, or put it into an ObjecId.ts file you will import.

(enableObjectID)();

declare global {
    interface ObjectConstructor {
        id: (object: any) => number;
    }
}

const uniqueId: symbol = Symbol('The unique id of an object');

export function enableObjectID(): void {
    if (typeof Object['id'] !== 'undefined') {
        return;
    }

    let id: number = 0;

    Object['id'] = (object: any) => {
        const hasUniqueId: boolean = !!object[uniqueId];
        if (!hasUniqueId) {
            object[uniqueId] = ++id;
        }

        return object[uniqueId];
    };
}

Example of usage:

console.log(Object.id(myObject));

jQuery code uses it's own data() method as such id.

var id = $.data(object);

At the backstage method data creates a very special field in object called "jQuery" + now() put there next id of a stream of unique ids like

id = elem[ expando ] = ++uuid;

I'd suggest you use the same method as John Resig obviously knows all there is about JavaScript and his method is based on all that knowledge.