Question

I am trying to loop through an array. I have the following code:

 var currnt_image_list= '21,32,234,223';
 var substr = currnt_image_list.split(','); // array here

Am trying to get all the data out of the array. Can some one lead me in the right path please?

Answer 1

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(Update: My other answer here lays out the non-jQuery options much more thoroughly. The third option below, jQuery.each, isn’t in it though.)

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Four options:

Generic loop:

var i;
for (i = 0; i < substr.length; ++i) {
    // do something with `substr[i]`
}

or in ES2015+:

for (let i = 0; i < substr.length; ++i) {
    // do something with `substr[i]`
}

Advantages: Straight-forward, no dependency on jQuery, easy to understand, no issues with preserving the meaning of this within the body of the loop, no unnecessary overhead of function calls (e.g., in theory faster, though in fact you’d have to have so many elements that the odds are you’d have other problems; details).

ES5’s forEach:

As of ECMAScript5, arrays have a forEach function on them which makes it easy to loop through the array:

substr.forEach(function(item) {
    // do something with `item`
});

Link to docs

(Note: There are lots of other functions, not just forEach; see the answer referenced above for details.)

Advantages: Declarative, can use a prebuilt function for the iterator if you have one handy, if your loop body is complex the scoping of a function call is sometimes useful, no need for an i variable in your containing scope.

Disadvantages: If you’re using this in the containing code and you want to use this within your forEach callback, you have to either A) Stick it in a variable so you can use it within the function, B) Pass it as a second argument to forEach so forEach sets it as this during the callback, or C) Use an ES2015+ arrow function, which closes over this. If you don’t do one of those things, in the callback this will be undefined (in strict mode) or the global object (window) in loose mode. There used to be a second disadvantage that forEach wasn’t universally supported, but here in 2018, the only browser you’re going to run into that doesn’t have forEach is IE8 (and it can’t be properly polyfilled there, either).

ES2015+’s for-of:

for (const s of substr) { // Or `let` if you want to modify it in the loop body
    // do something with `s`
}

See the answer linked at the top of this answer for details on how that works.

Advantages: Simple, straightforward, offers a contained-scope variable (or constant, in the above) for the entry from the array.

Disadvantages: Not supported in any version of IE.

jQuery.each:

jQuery.each(substr, function(index, item) {
    // do something with `item` (or `this` is also `item` if you like)
});

(Link to docs)

Advantages: All of the same advantages as forEach, plus you know it’s there since you’re using jQuery.

Disadvantages: If you’re using this in the containing code, you have to stick it in a variable so you can use it within the function, since this means something else within the function.

You can avoid the this thing though, by either using $.proxy:

jQuery.each(substr, $.proxy(function(index, item) {
    // do something with `item` (`this` is the same as it was outside)
}, this));

…or Function#bind:

jQuery.each(substr, function(index, item) {
    // do something with `item` (`this` is the same as it was outside)
}.bind(this));

…or in ES2015 (“ES6”), an arrow function:

jQuery.each(substr, (index, item) => {
    // do something with `item` (`this` is the same as it was outside)
});

What NOT to do:

Don’t use for..in for this (or if you do, do it with proper safeguards). You’ll see people saying to (in fact, briefly there was an answer here saying that), but for..in does not do what many people think it does (it does something even more useful!). Specifically, for..in loops through the enumerable property names of an object (not the indexes of an array). Since arrays are objects, and their only enumerable properties by default are the indexes, it mostly seems to sort of work in a bland deployment. But it’s not a safe assumption that you can just use it for that. Here’s an exploration: http://jsbin.com/exohi/3

I should soften the “don’t” above. If you’re dealing with sparse arrays (e.g., the array has 15 elements in total but their indexes are strewn across the range 0 to 150,000 for some reason, and so the length is 150,001), and if you use appropriate safeguards like hasOwnProperty and checking the property name is really numeric (see link above), for..in can be a perfectly reasonable way to avoid lots of unnecessary loops, since only the populated indexes will be enumerated.