Develop Reference

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
});

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.

Get the length of an array within a JSON object

I want to find out how many items are in my JSON object. I have seen many answers but they all deal with a common value to loop through. I am wanting the results to tell me that there are 2 items in this object. Any help would be great!
[{"manager_first_name":"jim","manager_last_name":"gaffigan"}]

You could use Object.keys in newer browsers. It would return an array of all the keys in the object, and that array would have a length property that will tell you how many items there are in the object :
var arr = [{"manager_first_name":"jim","manager_last_name":"gaffigan"}];
var length = Object.keys(arr[0]).length;
FIDDLE
In non-supporting browsers, you have to iterate
var arr = [{"manager_first_name":"jim","manager_last_name":"gaffigan"}];
var i = 0;
for (var key in arr[0]) i++;
FIDDLE

You can do this:
var arr = [{"manager_first_name":"jim","manager_last_name":"gaffigan"}],
length = 0,
obj = arr[0]; // Get first obj from array
for(var k in obj){
if( obj.hasOwnProperty(k) ) {
length++;
}
}
console.log(length); // Shows 2
You should use hasOwnProperty because you can also extend an Object with functions, there could otherwise also be count als keys.
Links:
hasOwnProperty

Try
var jsonArr = [{"manager_first_name":"jim","manager_last_name":"gaffigan"}];
var itemCount = JSON.stringify(jsonArr).split('":"').length - 1;
This is, of course, a rather coarse(and unreliable) way of doing it, but if you just want the item count, this should work like a charm.

Can't reference array by index

I have an array defined as:
var subjectCache = [];
I then have some code to build it up, which is working ok.
However, if I try to reference the array by an index, e.g.:
var x = subjectCache[0];
or
var x = subjectCache[1];
I get undefined.
Also subjectCache.length is always 0 (zero).
if I try to reference it by its key, e.g.:
var x = subjectCache['12345'];
it works.
Is this normal? Shouldn't I be able to reference it by its index whatever?
I'm using Internet Explorer, if it makes a difference (and it probably does :( )
[Edit]
this is the code I'm using to build the array, although I really don't think it is to blame.
It's a callback from a webservice call. This is working fine and the array is being populated.
var subjectCache = [];
var subjectCacheCount = 0;
function refreshSubjectsCallback(data) {
// update subjects
// loop through retrieved subjects and add to cache
for( i=0; i < data.length; i++ )
{
var subject = data[i];
var subjectid = subject.SubjectId;
subjectCache[subjectid] = subject;
subjectCacheCount += 1;
}
}
[/Edit]

You're probably assigning keys manually instead of using subjectCache.push() to add new elements to the array:
var array = [];
array['foo'] = 'bar';
console.log(array.length); // 0
The length attribute isn't going to reflect those changes the way you'd expect:
> var a = [];
undefined
> a[100] = 2; // The previous `100` entries evaluate to `undefined`
2
> a.length;
101
Instead, use an object:
var object = {};
object['foo'] = 'bar';
for (var key in object) {
var value = object[key];
console.log(value);
}

From your symptoms, it sounds like you are trying to treat the array as an associative array.
In Javascript, arrays work like this:
var a = [];
a[1] = 10;
alert(a.length);
Objects work like this:
var o = {};
o.myProp = true;
o["myOtherProp"] = false;

Arrays only work with numeric keys not strings. Strings assign properties to the object, and aren't counted as part of length nor it's numeric indices.
When building the array, make sure you are assigning to a numeric position within the array.

No, it will not work, because you haven't created arrays but objects.
you will have to access it by its key.
var x = subjectCache['12345'];
If this works and subjectCache.length doesn't, I think you are making an object not an array. You are confused.

Somewhere along the road you lost the array, and the variable subjectCache points to a different kind of object.
If it was an array, it can't have the length zero and contain an item that is reachable using subjectCache['12345']. When you access an item in an array it doesn't make any difference if you use a numeric index or a string representing a number.

Javascript: Iterating over array with non-consecutive keys

I need to iterate over an array for which the keys are non-consecutive:
var messages = new Array();
messages[0] = "This is the first message";
messages[3] = "This is another message";
Obviously using the index of a for loop will not work as it depends on the keys being sequential:
for (var i=0 ; i<messages.length ; i++) {
alert(messages[i]); // Will only alert the first message, as i is never equal to 3
}
What is the canonical way of dealing with this, seeing as the for-each syntax is not intended for iterating over values in an array in javascript? Thanks.

The idiomatic way would be to use an object, not an array. Just be sure to check hasOwnProperty to make sure you don't pick up stray things which may have been added to the prototype.
var messages = { };
messages[0] = "This is the first message";
messages[3] = "This is another message";
for (var i in messages) {
if (messages.hasOwnProperty(i))
alert(messages[i]);
}
Or, the more modern way would be to use Object.keys
Object.keys(messages).forEach(prop => {
alert(messages[prop]);
});
Be sure to transpile that code with Babel if you plan on running it in older browsers like IE.

for(var i in messages)
{
console.log(messages[i]);
}

You could ignore the undefined properties...
for (var i=0 ; i<messages.length ; i++) {
if(messages[i] !== undefined)
alert(messages[i]);
}
Or use forEach, which will ignore undefined undeclared properties...
messages.forEach(function(v,i) {
alert(v);
});

Simple! if the array has regular gaps between the indices do this:
for (var i = 0 ; i < messages.length; i += gap) {
alert(messages[i]); // Will only alert the messages at the regular interval/gap
}

You can use each() jQuery method to do this.
$.each(messages, function(index, val){
alert(val);
});
From jQuery docs
each()
A generic iterator function, which can be used to seamlessly iterate
over both objects and arrays. Arrays and array-like objects with a
length property (such as a function's arguments object) are iterated
by numeric index, from 0 to length-1. Other objects are iterated via
their named properties.

When you create an array and give it values at 0 and 3, undefined values are created at 1 and 2. try this:
$.each(messages, function(i,val) {
if (val) {
alert(val);
}
});

For a use case such with the assumptions:
array.length >== 1
(i.e: an array with meaningful data in it already)
Where you are interested in the data from array[1], array[15], array[45] etc
You can do something similar to:
var array = ["you","will","become","strong","with","the","codes","padawan"];
var values = [1,5,7];
for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++){
var cypher = values[i];
console.log(array[cypher]);
}
//will, the, padawan
Or perhaps something more meaningful such as:
for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++){
var cypher = values[i];
aService.aFn.(array[cypher],cb);
}
//calls aService.aFn separately for each value array[1] , array[5] , array[7] passed as args