// removes all duplicate items from an array
/**
* @method removeDuplicates
* @description removes duplicate items from the array
* @param haystack:Array - the array from which to remove any duplicates
*/
public static function removeDuplicates(haystack:Array):Array{
var dict:Dictionary = new Dictionary( true );
var output:Array = new Array( );
var item:*;
var total:int = haystack.length;
var pointer:int = 0;
for(pointer; pointer < total ; pointer++) {
item = haystack[pointer];
if(dict[item] == undefined) {
output.push( item );
dict[item] = true;
}
}
return output;
}