Why should we use Map instead of an object in JS?

1. Key Flexibility

• Object: Only strings and symbols can be used as keys. Any other type (e.g., numbers) will be converted to a string.
• Map: Allows any data type as a key, including objects, arrays, functions, etc.

2. Order of Keys

• Object: Does not guarantee the order of keys (though modern engines usually maintain insertion order for string keys).
• Map: Maintains the order of entries based on their insertion.

3. Performance

• Map: Optimized for frequent addition and removal of key-value pairs. It has better performance for these operations in scenarios with a large number of keys.
• Object: Performance can degrade as the object grows due to inherited properties and prototype chain lookups.

4. Built-in Iteration

• Object: Requires manual use of Object.keys(), Object.values(), or Object.entries() to iterate over keys, values, or key-value pairs.
• Map: Directly iterable with a for...of loop or methods like .keys(), .values(), and .entries().

5. Size Property

• Object: Does not have a built-in property to check the number of keys. You need to use Object.keys(obj).length.
• Map: Has a size property to directly get the count of entries.

6. No Prototype Interference

• Object: May have conflicts with inherited properties from the prototype chain (e.g., toString, hasOwnProperty).
• Map: Does not have prototype interference; all keys are explicitly defined.

7. Clear All Entries

• Object: No built-in method to clear all properties; you need to manually remove them or create a new object.
• Map: Provides a .clear() method to remove all entries.