Question

I’m trying to count the elements inside an array, and the number has to be updated each time elements are added. I’m trying to do this by using the following function:

function counter() {
    for(var i = 0; i < elements.length; i++) {
        counter = i;
    }
    alert("counter has counted");
}

but it only works the first time! The second time the function is called it doesn’t work anymore and the alert is not even showing up, so I guess the process gets interrupted in the for loop. Anyone knows the reason?

Answer 1

You shouldn’t use the same name (counter) for the variable that stores the count and for your function.

The line counter = i; overwrites the reference to your function. The next time you try to call counter() it won’t work because counter is no longer a function.

Try this instead:

function update_counter() {
    for(var i = 0; i < elements.length; i++) {
        counter = i;
    }
    alert("counter has counted");
}