I am looking for a JavaScript array insert method, in the style of:
arr.insert(index, item)
Preferably in jQuery, but any JavaScript implementation will do at this point.
I am looking for a JavaScript array insert method, in the style of:
arr.insert(index, item)
Preferably in jQuery, but any JavaScript implementation will do at this point.
You want the splice function on the native array object.
arr.splice(index, 0, item); will insert item into arr at the specified index (deleting 0 items first, that is, it's just an insert).
In this example we will create an array and add an element to it into index 2:
var arr = [];
arr[0] = "Jani";
arr[1] = "Hege";
arr[2] = "Stale";
arr[3] = "Kai Jim";
arr[4] = "Borge";
console.log(arr.join()); // Jani,Hege,Stale,Kai Jim,Borge
arr.splice(2, 0, "Lene");
console.log(arr.join()); // Jani,Hege,Lene,Stale,Kai Jim,Borge
Using Array.prototype.splice() is an easy way to achieve it
const numbers = ['one', 'two', 'four', 'five']
numbers.splice(2, 0, 'three');
console.log(numbers)
Read more about Array.prototype.splice() here
Today (2020.04.24) I perform tests for chosen solutions for big and small arrays. I tested them on macOS v10.13.6 (High Sierra) on Chrome 81.0, Safari 13.1, and Firefox 75.0.
For all browsers
slice and reduce (D,E,F) are usually 10x-100x faster than in-place solutionssplice (AI, BI, and CI) was fastest (sometimes ~100x - but it depends on the array size)Tests were divided into two groups: in-place solutions (AI, BI, and CI) and non-in-place solutions (D, E, and F) and was performed for two cases:
Tested code is presented in the below snippet:
function AI(arr, i, el) {
arr.splice(i, 0, el);
return arr;
}
function BI(arr, i, el) {
Array.prototype.splice.apply(arr, [i, 0, el]);
return arr;
}
function CI(arr, i, el) {
Array.prototype.splice.call(arr, i, 0, el);
return arr;
}
function D(arr, i, el) {
return arr.slice(0, i).concat(el, arr.slice(i));
}
function E(arr, i, el) {
return [...arr.slice(0, i), el, ...arr.slice(i)]
}
function F(arr, i, el) {
return arr.reduce((s, a, j)=> (j-i ? s.push(a) : s.push(el, a), s), []);
}
// -------------
// TEST
// -------------
let arr = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f"];
let log = (n, f) => {
let a = f([...arr], 3, "NEW");
console.log(`${n}: [${a}]`);
};
log('AI', AI);
log('BI', BI);
log('CI', CI);
log('D', D);
log('E', E);
log('F', F);
This snippet only presents tested code (it not perform tests)
Example results for a small array on Google Chrome are below:
Here are two ways:
const array = [ 'My', 'name', 'Hamza' ];
array.splice(2, 0, 'is');
console.log("Method 1: ", array.join(" "));
Or
Array.prototype.insert = function ( index, item ) {
this.splice( index, 0, item );
};
const array = [ 'My', 'name', 'Hamza' ];
array.insert(2, 'is');
console.log("Method 2 : ", array.join(" "));
Append a single element at a specific index
// Append at a specific position (here at index 1)
arrName.splice(1, 0,'newName1');
// 1: index number, 0: number of element to remove, newName1: new element
// Append at a specific position (here at index 3)
arrName[3] = 'newName1';
Append multiple elements at a specific index
// Append from index number 1
arrName.splice(1, 0, 'newElemenet1', 'newElemenet2', 'newElemenet3');
// 1: index number from where append start,
// 0: number of element to remove,
//newElemenet1,2,3: new elements
splice() for thisThe splice() method usually receives three arguments when adding an element:
0.let array = ['item 1', 'item 2', 'item 3']
let insertAtIndex = 0
let itemsToRemove = 0
array.splice(insertAtIndex, itemsToRemove, 'insert this string on index 0')
console.log(array)
Array#splice() is the way to go, unless you really want to avoid mutating the array. Given 2 arrays arr1 and arr2, here's how you would insert the contents of arr2 into arr1 after the first element:
const arr1 = ['a', 'd', 'e'];
const arr2 = ['b', 'c'];
arr1.splice(1, 0, ...arr2); // arr1 now contains ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']
console.log(arr1)
If you are concerned about mutating the array (for example, if using Immutable.js), you can instead use slice(), not to be confused with splice() with a 'p'.
const arr3 = [...arr1.slice(0, 1), ...arr2, ...arr1.slice(1)];
Using the splice method is surely the best answer if you need to insert into an array in-place.
However, if you are looking for an immutable function that returns a new updated array instead of mutating the original array on insert, you can use the following function.
function insert(array, index) {
const items = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, 2);
return [].concat(array.slice(0, index), items, array.slice(index));
}
const list = ['one', 'two', 'three'];
const list1 = insert(list, 0, 'zero'); // Insert single item
const list2 = insert(list, 3, 'four', 'five', 'six'); // Insert multiple
console.log('Original list: ', list);
console.log('Inserted list1: ', list1);
console.log('Inserted list2: ', list2);
Note: This is a pre-ES6 way of doing it, so it works for both older and newer browsers.
If you're using ES6 then you can try out rest parameters too; see this answer.
Anyone who's still having issues with this one and have tried all the options in previous answers and never got it. I'm sharing my solution, and this is to take into consideration that you don't want to explicitly state the properties of your object vs the array.
function isIdentical(left, right){
return JSON.stringify(left) === JSON.stringify(right);
}
function contains(array, obj){
let count = 0;
array.map((cur) => {
if(this.isIdentical(cur, obj))
count++;
});
return count > 0;
}
This is a combination of iterating the reference array and comparing it to the object you wanted to check, converting both of them into a string, and then iterating if it matched. Then you can just count. This can be improved, but this is where I settled.
Taking profit of the reduce method as follows:
function insert(arr, val, index) {
return index >= arr.length
? arr.concat(val)
: arr.reduce((prev, x, i) => prev.concat(i === index ? [val, x] : x), []);
}
So in this way we can return a new array (will be a cool functional way - more much better than using push or splice) with the element inserted at index, and if the index is greater than the length of the array it will be inserted at the end.
I have to agree with Redu's answer because splice() definitely has a bit of a confusing interface. And the response given by cdbajorin that "it only returns an empty array when the second parameter is 0. If it's greater than 0, it returns the items removed from the array" is, while accurate, proving the point.
The function's intent is to splice or as said earlier by Jakob Keller, "to join or connect, also to change.
You have an established array that you are now changing which would involve adding or removing elements...." Given that, the return value of the elements, if any, that were removed is awkward at best. And I 100% agree that this method could have been better suited to chaining if it had returned what seems natural, a new array with the spliced elements added. Then you could do things like ["19", "17"].splice(1,0,"18").join("...") or whatever you like with the returned array.
The fact that it returns what was removed is just kind of nonsense IMHO. If the intention of the method was to "cut out a set of elements" and that was its only intent, maybe. It seems like if I don't know what I'm cutting out already though, I probably have little reason to cut those elements out, doesn't it?
It would be better if it behaved like concat(), map(), reduce(), slice(), etc. where a new array is made from the existing array rather than mutating the existing array. Those are all chainable, and that is a significant issue. It's rather common to chain array manipulation.
It seems like the language needs to go one or the other direction and try to stick to it as much as possible. JavaScript being functional and less declarative, it just seems like a strange deviation from the norm.
I like a little safety and I use this:
Array.prototype.Insert = function (item, before) {
if (!item) return;
if (before == null || before < 0 || before > this.length - 1) {
this.push(item);
return;
}
this.splice(before, 0, item);
}
var t = ["a", "b"]
t.Insert("v", 1)
console.log(t)
Here's a working function that I use in one of my applications.
This checks if an item exists:
let ifExist = (item, strings = [ '' ], position = 0) => {
// Output into an array with an empty string. Important just in case their isn't any item.
let output = [ '' ];
// Check to see if the item that will be positioned exist.
if (item) {
// Output should be equal to an array of strings.
output = strings;
// Use splice() in order to break the array.
// Use positional parameters to state where to put the item
// and 0 is to not replace an index. Item is the actual item we are placing at the prescribed position.
output.splice(position, 0, item);
}
// Empty string is so we do not concatenate with comma or anything else.
return output.join("");
};
And then I call it below.
ifExist("friends", [ ' ( ', ' )' ], 1)} // Output: ( friends )
ifExist("friends", [ ' - '], 1)} // Output: - friends
ifExist("friends", [ ':'], 0)} // Output: friends:
You can do it with array.splice:
/**
* @param arr: Array
* @param item: item to insert
* @param index: index at which to insert
* @returns array with the inserted element
*/
export function _arrayInsertAt<T>(arr: T[], item: T, index: number) {
return arr.splice(index, 0, item);;
}
Here is the modern (Typescript functional) way:
export const insertItemInList = <T>(
arr: T[],
index: number,
newItem: T
): T[] => [...arr.slice(0, index), newItem, ...arr.slice(index)]
I do it like so:
const insert = (what, where, index) =>
([...where.slice(0, index), what , ...where.slice(index, where.length)]);
const insert = (what, where, index) =>
([...where.slice(0, index), what , ...where.slice(index, where.length)]);
const list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6];
const newList = insert('a', list, 2);
console.log(newList.indexOf('a') === 2);
Here's a simple function that supports inserting multiple values at the same time:
function add_items_to_array_at_position(array, index, new_items)
{
return [...array.slice(0, index), ...new_items, ...array.slice(index)];
}
Usage example:
let old_array = [1,2,5];
let new_array = add_items_to_array_at_position(old_array, 2, [3,4]);
console.log(new_array);
//Output: [1,2,3,4,5]
var array= [10,20,30,40]
var i;
var pos=2; //pos=index + 1
/*pos is position which we want to insert at which is index + 1.position two in an array is index 1.*/
var value=5
//value to insert
//Initialize from last array element
for(i=array.length-1;i>=pos-1;i--){
array[i+1]=array[i]
}
array[pos-1]=value
console.log(array)