Javascript fuzzy when using delete

Question

So...

var outObj = people[0];
outObj.oAuthID = null;
delete outObj.oAuthID;

Gives me ...

{
  "uuid": "39b2b45f-1dde-4c9a-8765-1bc76f55848f",
  "oAuthID": null,
  "date": "2013-10-21T16:48:47.079Z",
  "updated": "2013-10-21T16:48:47.079Z",
  "id": "52655aefcc81bb9adc000001"
}

But this...

function clone(obj) {
    // Handle the 3 simple types, and null or undefined
    if (null == obj || "object" != typeof obj) return obj;

    // Handle Date
    if (obj instanceof Date) {
        var copy = new Date();
        copy.setTime(obj.getTime());
        return copy;
    }

    // Handle Array
    if (obj instanceof Array) {
        var copy = [];
        for (var i = 0, len = obj.length; i < len; i++) {
            copy[i] = clone(obj[i]);
        }
        return copy;
    }

    // Handle Object
    if (obj instanceof Object) {
        var copy = {};
        for (var attr in obj) {
            if (obj.hasOwnProperty(attr)) copy[attr] = clone(obj[attr]);
        }
        return copy;
    }

    throw new Error("Unable to copy obj! Its type isn't supported.");
}

var outObj = clone(people[0]);
outObj.oAuthID = null;
delete outObj.oAuthID;

Gives me ...

{
  "uuid": "39b2b45f-1dde-4c9a-8765-1bc76f55848f",
  "date": "2013-10-21T16:48:47.079Z",
  "updated": "2013-10-21T16:48:47.079Z",
  "id": "52655aefcc81bb9adc000001"
}

I really don't want to clone everything every time, just to hide the property from my results. What's happening? What is this going on? How can I fix this to work "normal"?

Answer 1

I would be interested to know if you tested this code in multiple browsers, as they give inconsistent behavior with the operator delete. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/delete#Cross-browser_issues

One thing to try is to remove the property as if the object were an array.

delete outObj['oAuthID'];

.