This article is meant to introduce you to some of the powerful capabilities of the "mighty for loop" alternatives in JavaScript(JS from now).
If you're new to the JS programming language, click here to have a quick read on its history: http://bit.ly/36cSCHO
For the purpose of simplicity, I will be using the ES6 syntax to show how JavaScript code works. More to read about ES6 here: http://bit.ly/JS_ES6
The famous for loop function has been in existence since the introduction of programming languages, but in this case, we will focus on JavaScript. The forLoop function is used to traverse through an array of items or objects and then do "something" after that
Below is how the forLoop function works.
const arr = [1, 5, 6, 3, 2]
for(i=0; i< arr.length; i++){
console.log(arr[i])
} // results: 1, 5, 6, 3, 2
We are simply going through the whole array using 'i' and making sure that we are within the given array's length and printing the items one-by-one.
Now this may look cumbersome to some people who would need something simple & straightforward. Here comes in the "forEach()" function. Below is how the same code above would be implemented.
const arr = [1, 5, 6, 3, 2];
arr.forEach(i => {
console.log(i)
})
//result: 1, 5, 6, 3, 2
And voila! You just made use of the forEach() function without having to state the limit or have to use the "i++" to show iteration.
Be sure to check in soon for another article of the "forLoop alternatives" series.
Top comments (4)
Ayee, we also have for...of, for..in; just understand when to use each them.
Sure! All about preference.
Preference really? I look forward to your article on both with respect to arrays & objects.
Absolutely.