Question

so im using the etsy api with javascript calling this ajax code

$.ajax({ url: etsyURL, dataType: 'jsonp', success: function(data) {

that returns an object array i guess?

and goes into this .each function

    if (data.ok) {          
        gallerySize=data.count;
        $.each(data.results, function(i,item) {  //assign array variables
           shopName=item.Shop.shop_name;

what im trying to figure out- is what exactly the each function is doing- i dont understand where the ‘item’ object comes from and am trying to access information outside of the .each function

for example- as it is right now- shop_name only needs to be declared once, it doesnt make sense to have this code every single time inside the each method. Surely there is a way to access whatever object array the ajax function calls?

Im sure this is a rather simple thing- i just dont understand the way the .each statement it setup and where the item it refrences is coming from

Answer 1

In your code, $.each() iterates through data.results.

If it’s an array, i is the index, and item is the value at that index.

data.results = [
    'foo',          // i = 0, item = 'foo'
    'bar',          // i = 1, item = 'bar'
    'baz'           // i = 2, item = 'baz'
]

If it’s an object, i is the key, and item is the value under that key.

data.results = {
    'thefoo' : 'fooness',       // i = 'thefoo', item = 'fooness'
    'thebar' : 'barness',       // i = 'thebar', item = 'barness'
    'thebaz' : 'bazness'        // i = 'thebaz', item = 'bazness'
}