// GOAL: to return all the unique characters in a given string and how many
// times each letter was found. Needs to return an object that can represent this.
//
// take the given string and remove the spaces
// iterate through the string and select a chosen letter
// create an object to be returned
// assign the letter as a property to the object
// add the instances of the chosen letter to the appropriate property value
// repeat for all the letters in the string
// return the object to be visulized

function countLetters (str) {
 var noSpaces = str.replace(/\s/g, '');
 var cleanString = noSpaces.toLowerCase();
 var finalObj = {

 };

for (var i = 0; i < cleanString.length; i++){

  if (finalObj[cleanString[i]]) {
     finalObj[cleanString[i]] += 1;
  } else {
     finalObj[cleanString[i]] = 1;
  }
 }
 return finalObj;
}


console.log(countLetters("lighthouse in the house"));