15.3 Advanced Array Methods (15 mins)

Introduction to Advanced Array Methods: JavaScript provides powerful methods for manipulating arrays. These methods allow you to extract portions of arrays, insert or remove elements, search for elements, and iterate over arrays.
Array Methods:
- slice(): Returns a shallow copy of a portion of an array into a new array, without modifying the original array. You provide the start and (optional) end index.

Syntax: array.slice(start, end)

Example:

let fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange", "Mango", "Pineapple"];
let slicedFruits = fruits.slice(1, 3);
console.log(slicedFruits);  // Outputs: ["Banana", "Orange"] (extracted from index 1 to index 3, excluding 3)
console.log(fruits);  // Original array remains unchanged

splice(): Changes the contents of an array by removing, replacing, or adding elements. It modifies the original array.

Syntax: array.splice(start, deleteCount, item1, item2, ...)

Example (Remove and Add Elements):

let fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"];
fruits.splice(1, 1, "Grapes", "Peach");
console.log(fruits);  // Outputs: ["Apple", "Grapes", "Peach", "Orange"] (Banana is replaced)

indexOf(): Returns the first index at which a specified element is found in the array. Returns -1 if the element is not found.

Syntax: array.indexOf(element)

Example:

let fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"];
console.log(fruits.indexOf("Banana"));  // Outputs: 1 (index of "Banana")
console.log(fruits.indexOf("Grapes"));  // Outputs: -1 (not found)

forEach(): Executes a provided function once for each array element. It's useful for iterating over arrays.

Syntax: array.forEach(function(element, index, array))

Example:

let fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"];
fruits.forEach(function(fruit, index) {
  console.log(index + ": " + fruit);
});
// Outputs: 0: Apple, 1: Banana, 2: Orange

Student Activity (15 mins):

Objective: Students will practice using advanced array methods to extract, modify, find, and iterate over arrays.

Step-by-Step Activity:

Create an HTML file (e.g., arrays_advanced_methods.html) and write JavaScript code that demonstrates the use of advanced array methods.

Example Code:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Advanced Array Methods</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Check the Console for Advanced Array Method Outputs</h1>

  <script>
    // 1. slice(): Extract a portion of an array
    let colors = ["Red", "Green", "Blue", "Yellow", "Purple"];
    let slicedColors = colors.slice(1, 4);  // Extracts Green, Blue, and Yellow
    console.log("Sliced Colors: " + slicedColors);  // Outputs: Green, Blue, Yellow
    console.log("Original Colors: " + colors);  // Original array remains unchanged

    // 2. splice(): Remove and add elements to an array
    colors.splice(2, 1, "Orange", "Pink");  // Replaces "Blue" with "Orange" and "Pink"
    console.log("Colors after splice: " + colors);  // Outputs: Red, Green, Orange, Pink, Yellow, Purple

    // 3. indexOf(): Find the index of an element
    let indexOfYellow = colors.indexOf("Yellow");
    console.log("Index of Yellow: " + indexOfYellow);  // Outputs: 4

    let indexOfBlack = colors.indexOf("Black");
    console.log("Index of Black: " + indexOfBlack);  // Outputs: -1 (not found)

    // 4. forEach(): Iterate over the array
    colors.forEach(function(color, index) {
      console.log(index + ": " + color);
    });
    // Outputs:
    // 0: Red
    // 1: Green
    // 2: Orange
    // 3: Pink
    // 4: Yellow
    // 5: Purple
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Run the file in a browser:
- Open the HTML file in a browser and use Developer Tools (F12 or right-click and select Inspect > Console) to view the results of the array methods.

Activity:

Step 1: Use slice() to extract the first 3 elements from an array and print the result.

let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50];
let slicedNumbers = numbers.slice(0, 3);  // Extracts [10, 20, 30]
console.log("Sliced Numbers: " + slicedNumbers);

Step 2: Use splice() to replace an element in an array with two new elements.

let animals = ["Cat", "Dog", "Elephant"];
animals.splice(1, 1, "Rabbit", "Lion");  // Replaces "Dog" with "Rabbit" and "Lion"
console.log("Updated Animals: " + animals);  // Outputs: ["Cat", "Rabbit", "Lion", "Elephant"]

Step 3: Use indexOf() to find the position of a specific element in an array.

let fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Cherry"];
console.log("Index of Banana: " + fruits.indexOf("Banana"));  // Outputs: 1

Step 4: Use forEach() to iterate through an array and print each element and its index.

let cities = ["New York", "Los Angeles", "Chicago"];
cities.forEach(function(city, index) {
  console.log(index + ": " + city);  // Outputs index and city name
});

Challenge:

modify the code to show the results in a <div id="Result"> in index.html and add a "Next" button to carry out the step-by-step processing of the `console.log` outputs, you can follow these steps:

Add a <div> element with the id "Result" to display the results.
Add a "Next" button to trigger the display of each step.
Modify the JavaScript to handle the button click and display each result sequentially.

Here's the modified code:

// Challenege  code
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>Advanced Array Methods</title>
    <style>
      #Result {
        margin-top: 20px;
        padding: 10px;
        border: 1px solid #ccc;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Advanced Array Method Outputs</h1>
    <div id="Result">Click "Next" to see the results.</div>
    <button id="nextButton">Next</button>

    <script>
      let colors = ["Red", "Green", "Blue", "Yellow", "Purple"];
      let slicedColors = colors.slice(1, 4);
      let indexOfYellow = colors.indexOf("Yellow");
      let indexOfBlack = colors.indexOf("Black");

      let results = [
        "Sliced Colors: " + slicedColors,
        "Original Colors: " + colors,
        "Colors after splice: " + colors.splice(2, 1, "Orange", "Pink") ||
          colors,
        "Index of Yellow: " + indexOfYellow,
        "Index of Black: " + indexOfBlack,
      ];

      colors.forEach(function (color, index) {
        results.push(index + ": " + color);
      });

      let currentIndex = 0;
      const resultDiv = document.getElementById("Result");
      const nextButton = document.getElementById("nextButton");

      nextButton.addEventListener("click", function () {
        if (currentIndex < results.length) {
          resultDiv.innerHTML += "<br>" + results[currentIndex];
          currentIndex++;
        } else {
          resultDiv.innerHTML += "<br>All results displayed.";
          nextButton.disabled = true;
        }
      });
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

JavaScript Logic:
- Created an array results to store all the output strings.
- Used a currentIndex to keep track of which result to display next.
- Added an event listener to the "Next" button to display the next result in the results array each time it's clicked.
- Disabled the button once all results have been displayed.

Write a function that finds the first occurrence of a number greater than 10 in an array and returns its index using indexOf() and splice().

let numbers = [5, 8, 12, 19, 3];
let greaterThanTen = numbers.findIndex(num => num > 10);
console.log("First number greater than 10 is at index: " + greaterThanTen);  // Outputs: 2

Activity Follow-up Questions:

How does slice() differ from splice() when working with arrays?
What advantage does forEach() offer over a traditional for loop when iterating over arrays?
In what scenarios would you use indexOf() to search for elements in an array?

Expected Outcome:

Students will:

Understand how to use advanced array methods like slice(), splice(), indexOf(), and forEach().
Practice extracting and modifying elements in arrays using slice() and splice().
Learn how to search for elements in arrays using indexOf() and how to iterate over arrays using forEach().

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Last updated 10 months ago