Write a program in JavaScript to check if two strings are anagrams of each other or not

Given two strings 'a' and string 'b', we have to check if they are anagrams of each other or not and return True/False. Two strings are anagrams if they contain the same characters with the same frequency, just rearranged.

Input-1 ?

String a = "india"
String b = "nidia"

Output ?

True

Explanation ? Since the given string 'b' contains all the characters in the string 'a' with the same frequency, we will return True.

Input-2 ?

String a = "hackathon"
String b = "achcthoon"

Output ?

False

Explanation ? Since the given string 'b' doesn't have the same character frequencies as string 'a', we will return False.

The Approach Used to Solve This Problem

In the given strings 'a' and 'b', we will check if they are of the same length and then we will sort the strings. If both the sorted strings are equal, then return "True"; if not, then print "False".

• Take input two strings 'a' and 'b'

• A function checkStringAnagrams(string a, string b) which will return true if they are anagram of each other otherwise false.

• Find the length of both strings and check if they are the same.

• Now sort both strings in lexicographical order and check if they are equal or not.

• Return true or false accordingly.

Method 1: Using Sorting Approach

function checkStringsAnagram(a, b) {
    let len1 = a.length;
    let len2 = b.length;
    
    if(len1 !== len2){
        console.log('False - Different lengths');
        return false;
    }
    
    let str1 = a.split('').sort().join('');
    let str2 = b.split('').sort().join('');
    
    if(str1 === str2){
        console.log("True");
        return true;
    } else { 
        console.log("False");
        return false;
    }
}

// Test cases
checkStringsAnagram("indian", "ndiani");
checkStringsAnagram("listen", "silent");
checkStringsAnagram("hello", "bello");

True
True
False

Method 2: Using Character Frequency Count

function checkAnagramsFrequency(str1, str2) {
    if (str1.length !== str2.length) {
        console.log("False - Different lengths");
        return false;
    }
    
    const charCount = {};
    
    // Count characters in first string
    for (let char of str1) {
        charCount[char] = (charCount[char] || 0) + 1;
    }
    
    // Subtract character counts for second string
    for (let char of str2) {
        if (!charCount[char]) {
            console.log("False - Character mismatch");
            return false;
        }
        charCount[char]--;
    }
    
    console.log("True");
    return true;
}

// Test cases
checkAnagramsFrequency("race", "care");
checkAnagramsFrequency("rat", "car");

True
False - Character mismatch

Comparison

Conclusion

Both methods effectively check for anagrams. The sorting approach is simpler to understand, while the frequency counting method is more efficient with O(n) time complexity. Choose based on your performance requirements.