Develop Reference

Javascript array object arrays

THis is going to sound like a stupid question but here it goes. I have a js array formatted like so
var locationID = [
{ ID: "ID1", location: "location1" },
{ ID: "ID2", location: "location2" },
{ ID: "ID3", location: "location3" },
];
I am trying to loop through the array
for(i = 0; i < locationID.length;i++){
var object = locationID[i];
}
I want to get both elements from the inner array so the ID and location. would I do this by object[0] or object["ID"] for example.
Also is there a more efficient way to do what I need to do like a for each loop or something along those lines.

Use object.ID or object['ID'].
Objects {} in JavaScript are associative, or named arrays. (Also known as a map in many languages. They are indexed by strings (in this case).
Arrays [], are indexed by integral numbers, starting from 0 and counting up to n-1, where n is the length of the array.
If you want to programmatically go through all the (key, value) pairs in each object, you can use this method.
Quotations (String Literals)
To reiterate my comment below about single and double quotes:
If you're talking about inside the [], no [,they're not important]. JavaScript treats single
quotes and double quotes pretty much the same. Both of them denote
string literals. Interestingly, you can use single quotes inside
double quotes or vice-versa: "I wanted to say 'Hello world!'" would be
a (single) valid string, but so would 'But I accidentally said "Goodbye".

This is an optimized loop based from the book of Nicholas Zackas (YAHOO performance chief). I am performing a cached array length to prevent re-evaluation of array length on every iteration of the loop. Please check jsperf.com. Also, native loop is always faster than method based loops jQuery.each and Array.prototype.forEach. This is also supported on browsers below ie8
var currentItem,
locationInfo = [
{ ID: "ID1", location: "location1" },
{ ID: "ID2", location: "location2" },
{ ID: "ID3", location: "location3" },
];
for (var i = 0, len = locationInfo.length; i < len; i++) {
currentItem = locationInfo[i];
console.log(currentItem.ID);//I prefer this because it shrinks down the size of the js file
console.log(currentItem["ID"]);
}

what you have already will return each of the objects in the JSON as you run the loop. What you need is something like
for(i = 0; i < locationID.length;i++){
var object = {locationID[i].ID, locationID[i].location};
}
Remember properties of objects are accessed by their keys since they are key-value pairs.

For loops are going to be your best bet as far as speed, here's how you'd do it with forEach (IE 9+)
locationID.forEach(function(location, i){
console.log(location['ID'])
console.log(location['location'])
});
jQuery make's it a little easier but runs slower
$.each(array, function(i, item){
});
http://jsperf.com/for-vs-foreach/75
Also here a useful link: For-each over an array in JavaScript?

You can use the forEach method, which make your code more cleaner.
See forEach
locationID.forEach(function(elm){
//Here, elm is my current object
var data = elm;
console.log(data.ID):
console.log(data.location);
});
EDIT :
Then for your second question, you should filter and map methods.
function findNamebyID(id){
//Filter by id and map the data to location
return locationID.filter(function(elm){
return elm.ID === id;
}).map(function(elm){
return elm.location;
})
}

Something as:
var location = locationID.reduce(function(ob, cur) {
ob[cur.ID] = cur.location;
return ob;
}, {});
The result you get is:
Object {ID1: "location1", ID2: "location2", ID3: "location3"}
Meaning you can do:
location.ID1 // location1
location.ID2 // location2
...

an alternative to your loop, would be to use the JavaScript for (.. in ..) since you aren't really using the iterator; it just adds fluff
for(i = 0; i < locationID.length;i++){
var object = locationID[i];
}
could be written as:
for (item in locationID) {
var object = item;
}

JavaScript foreach loop on an associative array object

Why is my for for-each loop not iterating over my JavaScript associative array object?
// Defining an array
var array = [];
// Assigning values to corresponding keys
array["Main"] = "Main page";
array["Guide"] = "Guide page";
array["Articles"] = "Articles page";
array["Forum"] = "Forum board";
// Expected: loop over every item,
// yet it logs only "last" assigned value - "Forum"
for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
console.log(array[i]);
}
jQuery each() could be helpful: https://api.jquery.com/jQuery.each/

The .length property only tracks properties with numeric indexes (keys). You're using strings for keys.
You can do this:
var arr_jq_TabContents = {}; // no need for an array
arr_jq_TabContents["Main"] = jq_TabContents_Main;
arr_jq_TabContents["Guide"] = jq_TabContents_Guide;
arr_jq_TabContents["Articles"] = jq_TabContents_Articles;
arr_jq_TabContents["Forum"] = jq_TabContents_Forum;
for (var key in arr_jq_TabContents) {
console.log(arr_jq_TabContents[key]);
}
To be safe, it's a good idea in loops like that to make sure that none of the properties are unexpected results of inheritance:
for (var key in arr_jq_TabContents) {
if (arr_jq_TabContents.hasOwnProperty(key))
console.log(arr_jq_TabContents[key]);
}
edit — it's probably a good idea now to note that the Object.keys() function is available on modern browsers and in Node etc. That function returns the "own" keys of an object, as an array:
Object.keys(arr_jq_TabContents).forEach(function(key, index) {
console.log(this[key]);
}, arr_jq_TabContents);
The callback function passed to .forEach() is called with each key and the key's index in the array returned by Object.keys(). It's also passed the array through which the function is iterating, but that array is not really useful to us; we need the original object. That can be accessed directly by name, but (in my opinion) it's a little nicer to pass it explicitly, which is done by passing a second argument to .forEach() — the original object — which will be bound as this inside the callback. (Just saw that this was noted in a comment below.)

This is very simple approach. The advantage is you can get keys as well:
for (var key in array) {
var value = array[key];
console.log(key, value);
}
For ES6:
array.forEach(value => {
console.log(value)
})
For ES6 (if you want the value, index and the array itself):
array.forEach((value, index, self) => {
console.log(value, index, self)
})

If Node.js or the browser support Object.entries(), it can be used as an alternative to using Object.keys() (Pointy's answer).
const h = {
a: 1,
b: 2
};
Object.entries(h).forEach(([key, value]) => console.log(value));
// logs 1, 2
In this example, forEach uses destructuring assignment of an array.

There are some straightforward examples already, but I notice from how you've worded your question that you probably come from a PHP background, and you're expecting JavaScript to work the same way -- it does not. A PHP array is very different from a JavaScript Array.
In PHP, an associative array can do most of what a numerically-indexed array can (the array_* functions work, you can count() it, etc.). You simply create an array and start assigning to string indexes instead of numeric.
In JavaScript, everything is an object (except for primitives: string, numeric, boolean), and arrays are a certain implementation that lets you have numeric indexes. Anything pushed to an array will affect its length, and can be iterated over using Array methods (map, forEach, reduce, filter, find, etc.) However, because everything is an object, you're always free to simply assign properties, because that's something you do to any object. Square-bracket notation is simply another way to access a property, so in your case:
array['Main'] = 'Main Page';
is actually equivalent to:
array.Main = 'Main Page';
From your description, my guess is that you want an 'associative array', but for JavaScript, this is a simple case of using an object as a hashmap. Also, I know it's an example, but avoid non-meaningful names that only describe the variable type (e.g. array), and name based on what it should contain (e.g. pages). Simple objects don't have many good direct ways to iterate, so often we'll turn then into arrays first using Object methods (Object.keys in this case -- there's also entries and values being added to some browsers right now) which we can loop.
// Assigning values to corresponding keys
const pages = {
Main: 'Main page',
Guide: 'Guide page',
Articles: 'Articles page',
Forum: 'Forum board',
};
Object.keys(pages).forEach((page) => console.log(page));

arr_jq_TabContents[key] sees the array as an 0-index form.

Here is a simple way to use an associative array as a generic Object type:
Object.prototype.forEach = function(cb){
if(this instanceof Array) return this.forEach(cb);
let self = this;
Object.getOwnPropertyNames(this).forEach(
(k)=>{ cb.call(self, self[k], k); }
);
};
Object({a:1,b:2,c:3}).forEach((value, key)=>{
console.log(`key/value pair: ${key}/${value}`);
});

This is (essentially) incorrect in most cases:
var array = [];
array["Main"] = "Main page";
That creates a non-element property on the array with the name Main. Although arrays are objects, normally you don't want to create non-element properties on them.
If you want to index into array by those names, typically you'd use a Map or a plain object, not an array.
With a Map (ES2015+), which I'll call map because I'm creative:
let map = new Map();
map.set("Main", "Main page");
you then iterate it using the iterators from its values, keys, or entries methods, for instance:
for (const value of map.values()) {
// Here, `value` will be `"Main page"`, etc.
}
Using a plain object, which I'll creatively call obj:
let obj = Object.create(null); // Creates an object with no prototype
obj.Main = "Main page"; // Or: `obj["Main"] = "Main page";`
you'd then iterate its contents using Object.keys, Object.values, or Object.entries, for instance:
for (const value of Object.values(proches_X)) {
// Here, `value` will be `"Main page"`, etc.
}

var obj = {
no: ["no", 32],
nt: ["no", 32],
nf: ["no", 32, 90]
};
count = -1; // Which must be a static value
for (i in obj) {
count++;
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
console.log(obj[i][count])
};
};
In this code I used the brackets method for call values in an array because it contained an array. However, briefly the idea which a variable i has a key of property and with a loop called both values of the associative array.
It is the perfect method.

You can do this:
var array = [];
// Assigning values to corresponding keys
array[0] = "Main page";
array[1] = "Guide page";
array[2] = "Articles page";
array[3] = "Forum board";
array.forEach(value => {
console.log(value)
})

It seems like almost every answer is not what was asked at the very first place.
It's seems bit off that foreach-loop does not work. and simple for-loop will not work as well because length property will be zero in case of associative arrays(one of the fallback). but for-in do the thing for associative array
// Defining an array
var array = [];
// Assigning values to corresponding keys
array["Main"] = "Main page";
array["Guide"] = "Guide page";
array["Articles"] = "Articles page";
array["Forum"] = "Forum board";
// Expected: loop over every item,
// yet it logs only "last" assigned value - "Forum"
for (var index in array) {
console.log(index,array[index]);
}

Getting Length of Object in Javascript / jQuery

I am trying to set up an array in jQuery and I then need to do a for loop on it. But it seems that I cant use an associative array for some reason?
var items = new Array();
items['foo'] = 123456;
items['bar'] = 789012;
items['baz'] = 345678;
items['bat'] = 901234;
alert(items.length);
This is just a test, but it return 0?

You can't make associative array in JavaScript like what you want, instead you can use Object.
For example:
var items = {
foo : 123456,
bar : 789012,
baz : 345678,
bat : 901234
}
And to calculate the length you can do:
var getObjectSize = function(obj) {
var len = 0, key;
for (key in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(key)) len++;
}
return len;
};
Use: getObjectSize(items); // output: 4
For more see here.
Another one is:
Object.keys(items).length;
But not supported by all browsers.

var items = new Array();
items['foo'] = 123456;
The problem lies in the very first line. You believe that you are adding an item to the array at the index foo, but you are actually adding a property to the items variable with a key foo and value 123456. If you were to type items.foo it would give you back your 123456.
The problem with this approach is that adding a property to an array does not magically increase it's length.
If you want to have non-numeric indexes, you need to use an object instead of an array:
var items = {
foo: 123456,
bar: 789012,
baz: 345678,
bat: 901234
};

Another approach might be to set up two different arrays, which you construct in parallel:
var items = [], items2 = [];
items.push('foo');
items2.push(123456);
// etc.
alert(items2.length);​
The efficiency of this approach depends on how you'll use it. If you're only going to loop through the list of items and do something to each of them, this approach may be more efficient. But if you need to use it like an associative array (items['foo']), then you're better off building an object.

The .length property returns the highest numerical index of the array. Thus, in your case, there is no numerical index and it returns 0. Try
items[98] = "something";
items.length will be 98..! Use the .length property with caution, and if you also want to count the non-numerical indici, loop over the Object (an Array is also an Object) and count its ownProperties.

Javascript for..in on object property

I have the following JSON:
{"data":[{"id":1,"client_id":1},{"id":2,"client_id":1}]}
I'm trying to do a for...in but something is not going well.
Look at my code:
for (post in data) {
console.log(post.client_id); //return undefined
}
But if I do this:
for (i=0 ; i<data.length; i++) {
console.log(data[i].client_id); //return the correct value
}
Why can't I iterate with for..in in this case?

The value of the "data" property is an array. You need:
for (var i = 0; i < json.data.length; ++i)
console.log(json.data[i].client_id);
That's assuming that the JSON has been parsed and stored in a variable called "json". If it's actually called "data", then it'd be "data.data" instead of "json.data".
You really should not use for ... in loops for real arrays. It's a bad habit for a variety of reasons. Use a numeric index or something like the .forEach() facilities available in newer browsers.

First off, you should NEVER iterate arrays with for/in. That structure iterates properties of the object. You will get all the array elements, but you may also get other iterable properties of the object too.
Arrays should always be iterated with a traditional for loop as in:
for (var i = 0; i < arr.length; i++).
Second off, you have to make sure you're following your own data structure properly. You have this:
var item = {"data":[{"id":1,"client_id":1},{"id":2,"client_id":1}]};
which spread out some more looks like this:
var item = {
"data":[
{"id":1,"client_id":1},
{"id":2,"client_id":1}
]
};
So, your JSON is an object. That object has one property in it called data and that one property's value is an array, which contains objects. You would get the first item in the array with this:
item.data[0]
Or the properties on that object with this:
item.data[0].id
item.data[0].client_id
You would iterate all the items in that array like this:
for (var i = 0; i < item.data.length; i++) {
// access each object in the array
item.data[i].id
item.data[i].client_id
}

it should be like this:
for (var post in data) {
console.log(data[post].client_id); //return undefined
}
this is the correct form to iterate using for... in

for (post in data) {
console.log(post.client_id); //return undefined
}
you're doing this wrong, try it like this:
for (post in data) {
console.log(data[post].client_id); //return undefined
}
you should actually also include a filter, since stuff from the prototype can leak in:
for (post in data) {
if (data.hasOwnProperty(post)) {
console.log(data[post].client_id); //return undefined
}
}

It's because of the structure of your JSON. Notice that you've got an outer object with only a single top-level property: data.
{ "data":
[
{"id":1,"client_id":1},
{"id":2,"client_id":1}
]
}
data doesn't have a client_id property: it's an array of the sub-entries that you're trying to iterate over, and those have client_id properties. This is why your loop that indexes data works.

Extracting multiple object values

I have an object like this:
object["key1"] = "text1"
object["key2"] = "text2"
object["key3"] = "text1"
object["key4"] = "text3"
How can I give out (e.g. alert) the elements with the same values (text1, text2 and so on)?
In the above example it should be object["key1"] and object["key2"].
Thanks

You could "invert" your object (properties become values, values become properties):
var byValue = {};
for (var prop in object) {
if (!(object[prop] in byValue)) {
byValue[object[prop]] = [];
}
byValue[object[prop]].push(prop);
}
This should yield this structure:
{
'text1': ['key1', 'key3'],
'text2': ['key2'],
'text3': ['key4']
}
Then, you can detect those values that had duplicate keys:
for (var value in byValue) {
if (byValue[value].length > 1) {
alert(byValue[value].join(', '));
}
}

I have sorted the array and then considered that you would want to alert,or do any
functionality, only once for every repeated element.
WARNING: Sorting can get heavy with the size of the array
http://jsfiddle.net/SPQJ7/
The above fiddle is already setup and working with multiple reapeated elements

I updated my script
http://jsfiddle.net/HerrSerker/LAnRt/
This does not check for identity in complex values, just for equality (see foo example)