JavaScript Array Methods

The strength of JavaScript arrays lies in the array methods

Converting

Arrays to Strings
In JavaScript, all objects have the valueOf() and toString() methods.
The valueOf() method is the default behavior for an array. It returns an array as a
string:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]("demo").innerHTML = [Link]();
For JavaScript arrays, valueOf() and toString() are equal.

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]("demo").innerHTML = [Link]();
The join() method also joins all array elements into a string.
It behaves just like toString(), but you can specify the separator:

Example
<p id="demo"></p>
<script>
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange","Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]("demo").innerHTML = [Link](" * ");
</script>

Popping and Pushing

When you work with arrays, it is easy to remove elements and add new elements.
This is what popping and pushing is: Popping items out of an array, or pushing items into
an array.
The pop() method removes the last element from an array:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]();
// Removes the last element ("Mango") from fruits
The push() method adds a new element to an array (at the end):
Remember: [0] is the first element in an array. [1] is the second. Array indexes start with 0.

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]("Kiwi");
// Adds a new element ("Kiwi") to fruits
The pop() method returns the string that was "popped out".
The push() method returns the new array length.

Shifting Elements
Shifting is equivalent to popping, working on the first element instead of the last.
The shift() method removes the first element of an array, and "shifts" all other elements
one place down.

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]();
// Removes the first element "Banana" from fruits
The unshift() method adds a new element to an array (at the beginning), and "unshifts"
older elements:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]("Lemon"); // Adds a new element "Lemon" to fruits
The shift() method returns the string that was "shifted out".
The unshift() method returns the new array length.

Changing Elements
Array elements are accessed using their index number:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
fruits[0] = "Kiwi";
// Changes the first element of fruits to "Kiwi"
The length property provides an easy way to append a new element to an array:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
fruits[[Link]] = "Kiwi";
// Appends "Kiwi" to fruit

Deleting Elements
Since JavaScript arrays are objects, elements can be deleted by using the JavaScript
operator delete:

Example

var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];

delete fruits[0];
// Changes the first element in fruits to undefined

Using delete on array elements leaves undefined holes in the array. Use pop() or splice() instead

Splicing an Array
The splice() method can be used to add new items to an array:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link](2, 0, "Lemon", "Kiwi");
The first parameter (2) defines the position where new elements should
be added (spliced in).
The second parameter (0) defines how many elements should be removed.
The rest of the parameters ("Lemon" , "Kiwi") define the new elements to be added.

Using splice() to Remove Elements

With clever parameter setting, you can use splice() to remove elements without leaving
"holes" in the array:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link](0, 1);
// Removes the first element of fruits
The first parameter (0) defines the position where new elements should
be added (spliced in).
The second parameter (1) defines how many elements should be removed.
The rest of the parameters are omitted. No new elements will be added.

Sorting an Array
The sort() method sorts an array alphabetically:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]();
// Sorts the elements of fruits

Reversing an Array

The reverse() method reverses the elements in an array.

You can use it to sort an array in descending order:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
[Link]();
// Sorts the elements of fruits
[Link]();
// Reverses the order of the elements

Numeric Sort
By default, the sort() function sorts values as strings.
This works well for strings ("Apple" comes before "Banana").
However, if numbers are sorted as strings, "25" is bigger than "100", because "2" is
bigger than "1".
Because of this, the sort() method will produce incorrect result when sorting numbers.
You can fix this by providing a compare function:

Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
[Link](function(a, b){return a-b});
Use the same trick to sort an array descending:

Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
[Link](function(a, b){return b-a});

The Compare Function

The purpose of the compare function is to define an alternative sort order.
The compare function should return a negative, zero, or positive value, depending on the
arguments:
function(a, b){return a-b}
When the sort() function compares two values, it sends the values to the compare
function, and sorts the values according to the returned (negative, zero, positive) value.
Example:
When comparing 40 and 100, the sort() method calls the compare function(40,100).
The function calculates 40-100, and returns -60 (a negative value).
The sort function will sort 40 as a value lower than 100.

Find the Highest (or Lowest) Value

How to find the highest value in an array?

Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
[Link](function(a, b){return b-a});
// now points[0] contains the highest value
And the lowest:

Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
[Link](function(a, b){return a-b});
// now points[0] contains the lowest value

Joining Arrays
The concat() method creates a new array by concatenating two arrays:

Example
var myGirls = ["Cecilie", "Lone"];
var myBoys = ["Emil", "Tobias","Linus"];
var myChildren = [Link](myBoys);
// Concatenates (joins) myGirls and
myBoys
The concat() method can take any number of array arguments:

Example
var
var
var
var

arr1 = ["Cecilie", "Lone"];

arr2 = ["Emil", "Tobias","Linus"];
arr3 = ["Robin", "Morgan"];
myChildren = [Link](arr2, arr3);

// Concatenates arr1 with arr2 and arr3

Slicing an Array
The slice() method slices out a piece of an array:

Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Lemon", "Apple", "Mango"];
var citrus = [Link](1, 3);