var data=[
{ "name" : "ABC", "parent":"DEF", "relation": "ghi", "depth": 1 },
{ "name" : "DEF", "parent":"null", "relation": "null", "depth": 0 },
{ "name" : "new_name", "parent":"ABC", "relation": "rel", "depth": 2 }
];
var dataMap = {};
data.forEach(function(node) {
dataMap[node.name] = node;
});
console.log(dataMap,"dataMap")
var tree = [];
data.forEach(function(node) {
// find parent
var parent = dataMap[node.parent];
if (parent) {
// create child array if it doesn't exist
(parent.children || (parent.children = []))
// add node to parent's child array
.push(node);
} else {
// parent is null or missing
tree.push(node);
}
});
console.log(tree)