title: How do I find the length of an associative array in ActionScript 3.0?
body: <p>Is there a simple way to retrieve the length of an associative array (implemented as an <code>Object</code>) in ActionScript 3.0?</p>
  
  <p>I understand that there are two primary ways of creating associative arrays in AS3:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Use a <code>Dictionary</code> object; especially handy when the key does not need to be a <code>string</code></li>
  <li>Use an <code>Object</code>, and simply create properties for each desired element.  The property name is the key, and the value is, well, the value.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>My application uses approach #2 (using the <code>Object</code> class to represent associative arrays).  </p>
  
  <p>I am hoping there is something more native than my <code>for</code> loop, which manually counts up all the elements.</p>