Access array element by string in AS3 - actionscript-3

Question

As we know its possible to access field by name using indexer.
var obj:* = {name:"Object 1"};
trace(obj["name"]); // "Object 1"
But how to access an array element by String?
var arr:Array = new Array();
var obj:* = {items:arr};
trace(obj["items[0]"]); // Undefined

Answer 1

Ok, basically you want to be able to have a string be interpreted as actionscript. No elegant solution I'm afraid. You could write a parser that handles some simple syntax in a string and retrieves the value.
Here's a simple example:
var obj:Object = {
items:[1, 2, 3],
subObj: {
subitems: [4, 5, 6]
}
};
trace(getValueInObject(obj, "items[0]")); // 1
trace(getValueInObject(obj, "subObj.subitems[2]")); // 6
// takes an object and a "path", and returns the value stored at the specified path.
// Handles dot syntax and []
function getValueInObject(obj : Object, pathToValue : String) : * {
pathToValue = pathToValue.replace(/\[/g, ".").replace(/]/g, "");
var pathFractions : Array = pathToValue.split(".");
var currentObject : Object = obj;
while (pathFractions.length > 0 && currentObject != null) {
var fraction : String = pathFractions.shift();
currentObject = currentObject[fraction];
}
if (currentObject != null) {
return currentObject;
}
return null;
}