Develop Reference

Looping through an array with conditions

I'm having a tough time figuring out how to loop through an array and if certain items do exist within the array, i'd like to perform a .slice(0, 16) to kind of filter an already existing array (lets call that existing array "routes").
For example, a previous process will yield the following array:
points = ['=00ECY20WA200_RECV_P1SEL',
'=00ECY20WA200_RECV_P2SEL',
'=00RECV_C1A_EINCSCMPP1',
'=00RECV_C1A_EINCSCMPP2',
'=00BYPS_C1A_EINCSCMP',
'=00ECY20WA200_BYPS_SPSL1',
'=00ECC92AG184YB01',
'=00ECC92AG185YB01',
'=00ECC92AG186YB01',
'=00ECC92AG187YB01',
]
So if any of the above items exist in the "points" Array, which in this case they all do (but in some cases it could just be 1 of the 10 items existing there), I'm trying to perform routes.slice(0, 16) to the other already existing array.
I've tried lots of different ways (for loops with if statements) and at this point I'm not sure if its my syntax or what, but I'm back at square 0 and I don't even have a competent piece of code to show for. Any direction would be greatly appreciated.

You could use a hash table for checking and filtering.
var points = ['=00ECY20WA200_RECV_P1SEL', '=00ECY20WA200_RECV_P2SEL', '=00RECV_C1A_EINCSCMPP1', '=00RECV_C1A_EINCSCMPP2', '=00BYPS_C1A_EINCSCMP', '=00ECY20WA200_BYPS_SPSL1', '=00ECC92AG184YB01', '=00ECC92AG185YB01', '=00ECC92AG186YB01', '=00ECC92AG187YB01'],
hash = Object.create(null),
filtered = points.filter(function (a) {
if (!hash[a.slice(0, 16)]) {
hash[a.slice(0, 16)] = true;
return true;
}
});
console.log(filtered);
ES6 with Set
var points = ['=00ECY20WA200_RECV_P1SEL', '=00ECY20WA200_RECV_P2SEL', '=00RECV_C1A_EINCSCMPP1', '=00RECV_C1A_EINCSCMPP2', '=00BYPS_C1A_EINCSCMP', '=00ECY20WA200_BYPS_SPSL1', '=00ECC92AG184YB01', '=00ECC92AG185YB01', '=00ECC92AG186YB01', '=00ECC92AG187YB01'],
pSet = new Set,
filtered = points.filter(a => !pSet.has(a.slice(0, 16)) && pSet.add(a.slice(0, 16)));
console.log(filtered);

EDIT: So it seems like you want to remove an element from an array called routes for each element in the points array. This is how you could do this:
function removeBrokenRoutes(brokenPoints, routes){
for(let pt of brokenPoints){
let index = routes.indexOf(pt);
if(index !== -1) routes.splice(index,1);
}
return routes;
}
Keep in mind that the larger the arrays, the more time this is going to take to complete.

You could use the filter and indexOf methods in combination:
var arr = [/* all the data you're checking against */];
var points = [/* the data you're checking for */];
var filteredArr = arr.filter(function(x) {
// will return -1 if the point is not found
return points.indexOf(x) !== -1;
});
filteredArr will contain all the points that appear in both arrays. The filter function works by taking a function with one argument x, which represents each item in the array. if the function returns true, the item will be added to the new array (filteredArr), and if false the function will move on to the next item. indexOf will check if the item is found in the other array. Also it is important to note that you will need a more complex solution (such as a hashtable) if the data set is very, very large as this is not necessarily the most performant method. But it's a good place to start as it is easy to understand.

JavaScript returning numeric value instead of string(s) after sorting array

I am working on an exercise where I prompt the user for a list of names, store the list of names in an array, sort the array in ascending order, and print the list of names (one per line). When I do so, I see a numeric value displayed instead of one name per line. Why is this happening?
var namesArray = [];
do {
var names = prompt("Enter a name: ");
namesArray.push(names);
} while (names != "")
namesArray.sort();
for (var name in namesArray) {
document.write(name);
}

When you use this construct:
for (var name in namesArray) {
the value of name will be the index in the array (the property name). If you want the actual value in the array, you have to use that property name/index to get the value:
document.write(namesArray[name]);
Of course, you really should not iterate arrays that way in the first place because that iterates all the enumerable properties of the array object (potentially including non array elements) as you can see in this example. Instead, you should use a traditional for loop as in this code example that follows:
var namesArray = [];
do {
var names = prompt("Enter a name: ");
namesArray.push(names);
} while (names != "")
namesArray.sort();
for (var i = 0; i < namesArray.length; i++) {
document.write(namesArray[i]);
}
Other options for iterating the array:
namesArray.forEach(function(value) {
document.write(value)
});
Or, in ES6, you can use the for/of syntax which does actually work how you were trying to use for/in:
for (let value of namesArray) {
document.write(value);
}
You also may want to understand that using document.write() after the document has already been parsed and loaded will cause the browser to clear the current document and start a new one. I don't know the larger context this code fits in, but that could cause you problems.

First, in a for..in loop, here name represents the keys and not the values in your array (you should use namesArray[name])
Also there is another important thing to note. An array is not recommended to be looped through using for..in and if so, you should do it like this:
for (var key in array) {
if (array.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
// then do stuff with array[key]
}
}
The usual preferred ways to loop through an array are the following:
A plain for loop
for (var i = 0, l = array.length; i < l; i++) {
// array[i]
}
Or a higher order function with Array.prototype.forEach (IE9+ if you need compat with IE)
array.forEach(function (item) {
// do something with the item
});

Find key from value in associative array containing JSON

I've searched and found a few similar-but-not-quite answers.
I have an array SongList (showing 2 items for brevity...) - the first pair is a key, the second pair is some JSON.
SongList={
song_1:{title:"title of first song",artist:"the artist",mp3:"http://mysite/song1.mp3"},
song_2:{title:"title of second song",artist:"the artist",mp3:"http://mysite/song2mp3"}
...
};
I would like to be able to retrieve the key (song_1 or song_2) given the title in the value.
I will be looping through a temporary array of i items, each item in this array would have a match in SongList and I would save the key (song_1, song_2) in a final array.

You don't have an array, you have an object, containing more objects. Use for in
function findTitle(title) {
for (var key in SongList) {
if (SongList[key].title == title) return key;
}
return false;
}
And then call it!
findTitle("title of first song"); //returns "song_1"
findTitle("BNOT MEEEEEE"); //returns false

Here is an example.
var one = {
a: {b:"MightyMouse", d:2},
b: {b:"MickeyMouse", d:4},
c: {b:"Superman", d:6}
};
for (outerkey in one) {
if (one[outerkey].b === "Superman") {
console.log ("Outerkey = " + outerkey);
}
}
Assuming you are looking for Superman, this prints as expected c.

Thanks everyone, I realize my understanding of Arrays v. Objects was an issue which obviously hindered my Google-Fu. I hope it's ok to post the answer I finally arrived at via guidance here:
(SongList object is described in question above)
This is the eventual function I arrived at for saving the keys of the playlist SongList:
$("#save_playlist_as_keys").click(function() {
var keys = []
for(var i=0; i<myPlaylist.playlist.length; i++){
var playItem = (myPlaylist.playlist[i].title); //this returns the names of the tracks
for (var k in SongList){
if(SongList[k].title == playItem) keys.push(k);//this matches track name to keys
}
}
localStorage.setItem('storedKeys',keys);
});
This seems to be doing what I want for now.

Removing an object from a javascript list of objects

I currently have a list of objects in javascript indexed by a key:
var list = [];
list['a'] = [];
list['a'].push({obj: 'test'});
list['a'].push({obj: 'test2'});
list['b'] = [];
list['b'].push({obj: 'test'});
list['b'].push({obj: 'test2'});
I would list to remove the entry based on the key (a/b)
I have tried the following:
for(var x in list) { delete list[x]; }
that works but it actually leaves an undefined entry in the list.
I have also tried splicing the array, but that does not seems to work in this case.
Any thoughts on how to remove the entry in javascript or jQuery?
Thanks.
The Fix:
After reading some of the comments, i was able to better understand what my list is consistent of. Therefor, i was able to do the removal by doing the following:
delete list.b;
I'm not sure if my list is best way to organize my structure, but doing a delete on the list and treating it like an object property did the trick.
Thanks for all the feedback.

I'll assume list is an object, not an array.
If you want to reset a or (or b it's done the same way)
list.a.length = 0;
If you want to delete an element from a at a known index (let index)
list.a.splice(index, 1);

You're attempting to add the elements to the array object as object properties and not as array elements. You can verify this by inspecting the value of list.length (will be 0).
So when doing something such as the following:
function removeProperty(id) {
if (list.hasOwnProperty(id)) {
delete list[id];
}
}
removeProperty('a');
it's really the same as:
delete list.a;
which is why you think it leaves an undefined 'entry' in the 'list'.
You'll need to use a literal object instead:
var list = {};
list['a'] = [];
...
list['b' = [];
...
which would allow you to use delete and have it behave as you expect. Of course you'll lose the .length property on the array but you never had that anyway.

Create a simple prototype for the Array class
Array.prototype.remove = function() {
// Helper function to remove a single element from a list if exists
item = arguments[0]
if (this.includes(item)) {
index = this.indexOf(item)
this.splice(index, 1)
}
}
// Now we can call
myList.remove(YourObject)
The above code will add the remove method to all your lists, so this will help you not just for objects but also strings, integers, or any data type

var list = {1: [{},{}], 2: [{},{}]};
function removeProperty(obj, prop){
if(obj[prop]){
delete obj[prop];
}
}
removeProperty(list,"1");
console.log(list);

If this quote:
I would list to remove the entry based on the key (a/b)
means you would like to select the list to consider based off the key (a/b), then remove elements in the list (or all of them), you can try this:
var list = [];
list['a'] = [];
list['a'].push({obj: 'test4'});
list['a'].push({obj: 'test5'});
list['b'] = [];
list['b'].push({obj: 'test'});
list['b'].push({obj: 'test2'});
var toRemove = 'test4';
var removeFrom = "a";
var consideredList;
for (var prop in list) {
if (prop == removeFrom) {
consideredList = list[prop];
}
}
//Remove everything from the considered list
consideredList.splice(0, consideredList.length);
//Remove based off value, if you know the property name
// for(var pos in consideredList) {
// if(consideredList[pos].obj == toRemove) {
// consideredList.splice(pos, 1);
// }
// }
I made a Plunker of a few different cases (check the script.js file). There seems to be a bit of confusion on what you are after and hopefully this is helpful to you somehow. Good luck.

Separating key value pairs into two variables with for loop

edit: don't do this. this was a stupid way of doing something I tried when I was new to programming
I have a list of 32 pieces of data in an array that are paired like this
"foo:bar","baz:example","cat:dog"
and I want to loop through that array to and stop on the pair that matches the user's input. So, for example, if the user types in "foo" it'll return both "foo" and "bar" separately, and if the user types in "bar" it'll return both "foo" and "bar". There are no values that repeat.
Right now what I have is a huge table with if statements. So if the user's input is x, then it returns the correct value. I had to do the matching by hand, and I'm assuming that looping through the array until the correct value is found would be more efficient than 64 different ifs.
I've tried something like this (just an example) using two separate arrays:
for (var i=0;i<array.length;i++) {
if (array[i] === user_input) {
var index = indexOf(array[i]);
break;
}
}
and then using the index variable as the index number of the value in each array, but it returns undefined
I've also tried this: Separate key and value pairs into two arrays
But it gives me all the values in the array, which I don't want. I just want one specific value that the user inputs. And while I can select one specific portion of the array using the index number, I can't figure out how to make that dynamic (e.g. changing based on what the user inputs).
Is it even possible to do this? And if not, what would be the best way?
Thanks.

You can do this:
function getPair(arr, search) {
var rtn = arr.filter(function (v, i) {
return new RegExp("\\b" + search + "\\b").test(v);
})[0];
return rtn ? rtn.split(':') : -1;
}
Use it like this:
var array = ["foo:bar","baz:example","cat:dog"];
getPair(array, "foo"); // ["foo","bar"]
Note: The above function returns -1 if the search string isn't found in the array.

Here's a function that iterates over the array, and checks if the user_input is anywhere. If so, it will return the string that it found a match for.
function getPair(array, user_input) {
for (var i=0;i<array.length;i++) {
var pair = array[i].split(':');
if (pair.indexOf(user_input) >= 0) {
return pair;
}
}
return [];
}
var array = ["foo:bar","baz:example","cat:dog"];
getPair(array, "foo"); //will return ['foo', 'bar']
getPair(array, "bar"); //will return ['foo', 'bar']
getPair(array, "dog"); //will return ['cat', 'dog']
getPair(array, "zzz"); //will return []

I would suggest to work with objects. First, convert your array:
var pair,obj1={},obj2={};
for (var i=0;i<array.length;i++) {
pair=array[i].split(":");
obj1[pair[0]]=pair[1];
obj2[pair[1]]=pair[0];
}
This will give you the following objects:
obj1={
"foo":"bar",
"baz":"example",
"cat":"dog"
};
obj2={
"bar":"foo",
"example":"baz",
"dog":"cat"
};
Then based on the user input:
if (obj1[user_input]) {return [user_input,obj1[user_input]];}
else if (obj2[user_input]) {return [obj2[user_input],user_input];}
else return undefined;
Live demo: http://jsfiddle.net/x23qG/