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AngularJS 1.8: implementing using $watchCollection on deeply nested objects

πŸ‘€ Views: 29 πŸ’¬ Answers: 1 πŸ“… Created: 2025-06-08
angularjs scope watch javascript

I've been struggling with this for a few days now and could really use some help. I'm experimenting with I'm working on a project and hit a roadblock..... I'm experiencing unexpected behavior when using `$watchCollection` to monitor changes in a deeply nested object structure within my AngularJS 1.8 application. The structure looks something like this: ```javascript $scope.data = { users: [ { id: 1, name: 'Alice', details: { age: 30, location: 'NY' } }, { id: 2, name: 'Bob', details: { age: 25, location: 'LA' } } ], admin: { accessLevel: 'full', permissions: ['read', 'write'] } }; ``` I want to watch for changes specifically in the `users` array and their `details` properties. Here’s how I set up my watcher: ```javascript $scope.$watchCollection('data.users', function(newVal, oldVal) { console.log('Users changed:', newVal); }); ``` However, when I update a user's `details` like this: ```javascript $scope.data.users[0].details.age = 31; ``` I expect my watcher to trigger, but it doesn't. I only see updates when I directly replace the entire `users` array with a new array reference. I've also tried using `$watch` instead, but that feels inefficient for my use case, as it leads to unnecessary checks on the entire structure every digest cycle. Is there a way to make `$watchCollection` effectively track changes on nested properties within an array? Am I missing something in the way that AngularJS handles object references and deep watching? Any suggestions or workarounds for this scenario would be greatly appreciated! For context: I'm using Javascript on Linux. How would you solve this? I appreciate any insights! My team is using Javascript for this desktop app. Is there a simpler solution I'm overlooking?