title: Dictionary in Flex/ActionScript
body: <p>Is there any way to implement a dictionary with ActionScript in a Flex application.
  For example, I want to store something like this.</p>
  
  <pre><code>public var orientation:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection([
      {a: new Direction('0','0','b','0')},
      {b: new Direction('a','c','0','h')},
      {c: new Direction('0','b','d','e')},
      {d: new Direction('c','0','0','0')},
      {e: new Direction('f','g','0','c')},
      {f: new Direction('0','0','e','0')},
      {g: new Direction('0','0','0','e')},
      {h: new Direction('0','b','0','i')},
      {i: new Direction('l','h','j','m')},
      {j: new Direction('i','k','0','0')},
      {k: new Direction('0','0','0','j')},
      {l: new Direction('0','0','i','0')},
      {m: new Direction('0','i','0','0')}
  ]);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>So that instead of </p>
  
  <pre><code>orientation.getItemAt(3).north
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I could go something like </p>
  
  <pre><code>orientation.getItemAt('d')north
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Without getting the following error</p>
  
  <pre><code>Implicit coercion of a value of type String to an unrelated type int.
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Thank You for your help</p>