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Compare two sentences word by word and return the number of word matches considering different word forms

Thanks to Nina I have a code to compare two sentences word by word and return the number of word matches like this:
function includeWords(wanted, seen) {
var wantedMap = wanted.split(/\s+/).reduce((m, s) => m.set(s, (m.get(s) || 0) + 1), new Map),
wantedArray = Array.from(wantedMap.keys()),
count = 0;
seen.split(/\s+/)
.forEach(s => {
var key = wantedArray.find(t => s === t || s.length > 3 && t.length > 3 && (s.startsWith(t) || t.startsWith(s)));
if (!wantedMap.get(key)) return;
console.log(s, key)
++count;
wantedMap.set(key, wantedMap.get(key) - 1);
});
return count;
}
let matches = includeWords('i was sent to earth to protect you introduced', 'they\'re were protecting him i knew that i was aware introducing');
console.log('Matched words: ' + matches);
The code works fine, but there is still one issue:
What if we want to return a match for introduced and introducing too?

If you want the program to consider the words 'introduce' and 'introducing' as a match, it would amount to a "fuzzy" match (non binary logic). One simple way of doing this would require more code, the algorithm of which would possibly resemble
Take 2 words that you wish to match, tokenize into ordered list
of letters
Compare positionally the respective letters, i.e
match a[0]==b[0]? a[1]==b[1] where a[0] represents the first letter
of the first word and b[0] represents the first tokenized
letter/character potential match candidate
KEep a rolling numeric count of such positional matches. In this case it is 8 (introduc).
divide by word length of a = 8/9 call this f
divide by word length of b = 8/11 call this g
Provide a threshold value beyond which the program will consider it a match. eg. if you say anything above 70% in BOTH f and g can be
considered a match - viola, you have your answer!
Please note that there is some normalization also needed to prevent low length words from becoming false positives. you can add a constraint that the aforementioned calculation applies to words with at least 5 letters(or something to that effect!
Hope this helps!!
Regards,
SR

You could calculate similarites for a word pair and get a relation how many characters are similar bei respecting the length of the given word and the wanted pattern.
function getSimilarity(a, b) {
var i = 0;
while (i < a.length) {
if (a[i] !== b[i]) break;
i++;
}
return i / Math.max(a.length, b.length);
}
console.log(getSimilarity('abcdefghij', 'abc')); // 0.3
console.log(getSimilarity('abcdefghij', 'abcdef')); // 0.6
console.log(getSimilarity('abcdefghij', 'abcdefghij')); // 1
console.log(getSimilarity('abcdef', 'abcdefghij')); // 0.6
console.log(getSimilarity('abcdefghij', 'abcdef')); // 0.6
console.log(getSimilarity('abcdefghij', 'xyz')); // 0
console.log(getSimilarity('introduced', 'introducing')); // 0.7272727272727273

Here's a quick fix solution.
It's not intended as a complete solution.
Since the English language has more than a few quirks that would almost require an AI to understand the language.
First add a function that can compare 2 words and returns a boolean.
It'll also make it easier to test for specific words, and adapt to what's really needed.
For example, here's a function that does the simple checks that were already used.
Plus an '...ed' versus '...ing' check.
function compareWords (word1, word2) {
if (word1 === word2)
return true;
if (word1.length > 3 && word2.length > 3) {
if (word1.startsWith(word2) || word2.startsWith(word1))
return true;
if (word1.length > 4 && word2.length > 4) {
if (/(ing|ed)$/.test(word1) && word1.replace(/(ing|ed)$/, 'inged') === word2.replace(/(ing|ed)$/, 'inged'))
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
//
// tests
//
let words = [
["same", "same"],
["different", "unsame"],
["priced", "pricing"],
["price", "priced"],
["producing", "produced"],
["produced", "producing"]
];
words.forEach( (arr, idx) => {
let word1= arr[0];
let word2= arr[1];
let isSame = compareWords(word1, word2);
console.log(`[${word1}] ≈ [${word2}] : ${isSame}`);
});
Then use it in the code you already have.
...
seen.split(/\s+/)
.forEach(s => {
var key = wantedArray.find(t => compareWords(t, s));
...
Regarding string similarity, here's f.e. an older SO post that has some methods to compare strings : Compare Strings Javascript Return %of Likely

I have implemented this, it seems to work fine. any suggestions would be appreciated..
let speechResult = "i was sent to earth to introducing protect yourself introduced seen";
let expectSt = ['they were protecting him knew introducing that you i seen was aware seen introducing'];
// Create arrays of words from above sentences
let speechResultWords = speechResult.split(/\s+/);
let expectStWords = expectSt[0].split(/\s+/);
function includeWords(){
// Declare a variable to hold the count number of matches
let arr = [];
for(let a = 0; a < speechResultWords.length; a++){
for(let b = 0; b < expectStWords.length; b++){
if(similarity(speechResultWords[a], expectStWords[b]) > 69){
arr.push(speechResultWords[a]);
console.log(speechResultWords[a] + ' includes in ' + expectStWords[b]);
}
} // End of first for loop
} // End of second for loop
let uniq = [...new Set(arr)];
return uniq.length;
};
let result = includeWords();
console.log(result)
// The algorithmn
function similarity(s1, s2) {
var longer = s1;
var shorter = s2;
if (s1.length < s2.length) {
longer = s2;
shorter = s1;
}
var longerLength = longer.length;
if (longerLength == 0) {
return 1.0;
}
return (longerLength - editDistance(longer, shorter)) / parseFloat(longerLength)*100;
}
function editDistance(s1, s2) {
s1 = s1.toLowerCase();
s2 = s2.toLowerCase();
var costs = new Array();
for (var i = 0; i <= s1.length; i++) {
var lastValue = i;
for (var j = 0; j <= s2.length; j++) {
if (i == 0)
costs[j] = j;
else {
if (j > 0) {
var newValue = costs[j - 1];
if (s1.charAt(i - 1) != s2.charAt(j - 1))
newValue = Math.min(Math.min(newValue, lastValue),
costs[j]) + 1;
costs[j - 1] = lastValue;
lastValue = newValue;
}
}
}
if (i > 0)
costs[s2.length] = lastValue;
}
return costs[s2.length];
}

Permutations without recursive function call

Requirement: Algorithm to generate all possible combinations of a set , without duplicates , or recursively calling function to return results.
The majority , if not all of the Answers provided at Permutations in JavaScript? recursively call a function from within a loop or other function to return results.
Example of recursive function call within loop
function p(a, b, res) {
var b = b || [], res = res || [], len = a.length;
if (!len)
res.push(b)
else
for (var i = 0; i < len
// recursive call to `p` here
; p(a.slice(0, i).concat(a.slice(i + 1, len)), b.concat(a[i]), res)
, i++
);
return res
}
p(["a", "b", "c"]);
The current Question attempts to create the given permutation in a linear process , relying on the previous permutation.
For example , given an array
var arr = ["a", "b", "c"];
to determine the total number of possible permutations
for (var len = 1, i = k = arr.length; len < i ; k *= len++);
k should return 6 , or total number of possible permutations of arr ["a", "b", "c"]
With the total number of individual permutations determined for a set , the resulting array which would contain all six permutations could be created and filled using Array.prototype.slice() , Array.prototype.concat() and Array.prototype.reverse()
var res = new Array(new Array(k));
res[0] = arr;
res[1] = res[0].slice(0,1).concat(res[0].slice(-2).reverse());
res[2] = res[1].slice(-1).concat(res[1].slice(0,2));
res[3] = res[2].slice(0,1).concat(res[2].slice(-2).reverse());
res[4] = res[3].slice(-2).concat(res[3].slice(0,1));
res[5] = res[4].slice(0,1).concat(res[4].slice(-2).reverse());
Attempted to reproduce results based on the pattern displayed at the graph for An Ordered Lexicographic Permutation Algorithm based on one published in Practical Algorithms in C++ at Calculating Permutations and Job Interview Questions .
There appears to be a pattern that could be extended if the input set was , for example
["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"]
where 120 permutations would be expected.
An example of an attempt at filling array relying only on previous permutation
// returns duplicate entries at `j`
var arr = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"], j = [];
var i = k = arr.length;
arr.forEach(function(a, b, array) {
if (b > 1) {
k *= b;
if (b === i -1) {
for (var q = 0;j.length < k;q++) {
if (q === 0) {
j[q] = array;
} else {
j[q] = !(q % i)
? array.slice(q % i).reverse().concat(array.slice(0, q % i))
: array.slice(q % i).concat(array.slice(0, q % i));
}
}
}
}
})
however have not yet been able to make the necessary adjustments at parameters for .slice() , .concat() , .reverse() at above js to step from one permutation to the next ; while only using the previous array entry within res to determine current permutation , without using recursive.
Noticed even , odd balance of calls and tried to use modulus % operator and input array .length to either call .reverse() or not at ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"] array , though did not produce results without duplicate entries.
The expected result is that the above pattern could be reduced to two lines called in succession for the duration of the process until all permutations completed, res filled ; one each for call to .reverse() , call without .reverse() ; e.g., after res[0] filled
// odd , how to adjust `.slice()` , `.concat()` parameters
// for array of unknown `n` `.length` ?
res[i] = res[i - 1].slice(0,1).concat(res[i - 1].slice(-2).reverse());
// even
res[i] = res[1 - 1].slice(-1).concat(res[i - 1].slice(0,2));
Question: What adjustments to above pattern are necessary , in particular parameters , or index , passed .slice() , .concat() to produce all possible permutations of a given set without using a recursive call to the currently processing function ?
var arr = ["a", "b", "c"];
for (var len = 1, i = k = arr.length; len < i; k *= len++);
var res = new Array(new Array(k));
res[0] = arr;
res[1] = res[0].slice(0, 1).concat(res[0].slice(-2).reverse());
res[2] = res[1].slice(-1).concat(res[1].slice(0, 2));
res[3] = res[2].slice(0, 1).concat(res[2].slice(-2).reverse());
res[4] = res[3].slice(-2).concat(res[3].slice(0, 1));
res[5] = res[4].slice(0, 1).concat(res[4].slice(-2).reverse());
console.log(res);
Edit, Update
Have found a process to utilize pattern described above to return permutations in lexicographic order for an input up to .length 4 , using a single for loop. Expected results are not returned for array with .length of 5.
The pattern is based on the second chart at "Calculating Permutations and Job Interview Questions"[0].
Would prefer not to use .splice() or .sort() to return results, though used here while attempting to adhere to last "rotate" requirement at each column. The variable r should reference the index of the first element of the next permutation, which it does.
The use of .splice() , .sort() could be included if their usage followed the pattern at the chart ; though at js below, they actually do not.
Not entirely certain that the issue with js below is only the statement following if (i % (total / len) === reset) , though that portion required the most investment of time; yet still does not return expected results.
Specifically, now referring to the chart, at rotating , for example 2 to index 0, 1 to index 2. Attempted to achieve this by using r , which is a negative index, to traverses from right to left to retrieve next item that should be positioned at index 0 of adjacent "column".
At next column, 2 would be placed at index 2 , 3 would be placed at index 0. This is portion, as far as have been able to grasp or debug, so far, is the area where error is occurring.
Again, returns expected results for [1,2,3,4], though not for [1,2,3,4,5]
var arr = [1, 2, 3, 4];
for (var l = 1, j = total = arr.length; l < j ; total *= l++);
for (var i = 1
, reset = 0
, idx = 0
, r = 0
, len = arr.length
, res = [arr]
; i < total; i++) {
// previous permutation
var prev = res[i - 1];
// if we are at permutation `6` here, or, completion of all
// permutations beginning with `1`;
// setting next "column", place `2` at `index` 0;
// following all permutations beginning with `2`, place `3` at
// `index` `0`; with same process for `3` to `4`
if (i % (total / len) === reset) {
r = --r % -(len);
var next = prev.slice(r);
if (r === -1) {
// first implementation used for setting item at index `-1`
// to `index` 0
// would prefer to use single process for all "rotations",
// instead of splitting into `if` , `else`, though not there, yet
res[i] = [next[0]].concat(prev.slice(0, 1), prev.slice(1, len - 1)
.reverse());
} else {
// workaround for "rotation" at from `index` `r` to `index` `0`
// the chart does not actually use the previous permutation here,
// but rather, the first permutation of that particular "column";
// here, using `r` `,i`, `len`, would be
// `res[i - (i - 1) % (total / len)]`
var curr = prev.slice();
// this may be useful, to retrieve `r`,
// `prev` without item at `r` `index`
curr.splice(prev.indexOf(next[0]), 1);
// this is not optiomal
curr.sort(function(a, b) {
return arr.indexOf(a) > arr.indexOf(b)
});
// place `next[0]` at `index` `0`
// place remainder of sorted array at `index` `1` - n
curr.splice(0, 0, next[0])
res[i] = curr
}
idx = reset;
} else {
if (i % 2) {
// odd
res[i] = prev.slice(0, len - 2).concat(prev.slice(-2)
.reverse())
} else {
// even
--idx
res[i] = prev.slice(0, len - (len - 1))
.concat(prev.slice(idx), prev.slice(1, len + (idx)))
}
}
}
// try with `arr` : `[1,2,3,4,5]` to return `res` that is not correct;
// how can above `js` be adjusted to return correct results for `[1,2,3,4,5]` ?
console.log(res, res.length)
Resources:
Generating Permutation with Javascript
(Countdown) QuickPerm Head Lexicography:
(Formally Example_03 ~ Palindromes)
Generating all Permutations [non-recursive]
(Attempt to port to from C++ to javascript jsfiddle http://jsfiddle.net/tvvvjf3p/)
Calculating Permutation without Recursion - Part 2
permutations of a string using iteration
iterative-permutation
Permutations by swapping
Evaluation of permutation algorithms
Permutation algorithm without recursion? Java
Non-recursive algorithm for full permutation with repetitive elements?
String permutations in Java (non-recursive)
Generating permutations lazily
How to generate all permutations of a list in Python
Can all permutations of a set or string be generated in O(n log n) time?
Finding the nth lexicographic permutation of ‘0123456789’
Combinations and Permutations

Here is a simple solution to compute the nth permutation of a string:
function string_nth_permutation(str, n) {
var len = str.length, i, f, res;
for (f = i = 1; i <= len; i++)
f *= i;
if (n >= 0 && n < f) {
for (res = ""; len > 0; len--) {
f /= len;
i = Math.floor(n / f);
n %= f;
res += str.charAt(i);
str = str.substring(0, i) + str.substring(i + 1);
}
}
return res;
}
The algorithm follows these simple steps:
first compute f = len!, there are factorial(len) total permutations of a set of len different elements.
as the first element, divide the permutation number by (len-1)! and chose the element at the resulting offset. There are (len-1)! different permutations that have any given element as their first element.
remove the chosen element from the set and use the remainder of the division as the permutation number to keep going.
perform these steps with the rest of the set, whose length is reduced by one.
This algorithm is very simple and has interesting properties:
It computes the n-th permutation directly.
If the set is ordered, the permutations are generated in lexicographical order.
It works even if set elements cannot be compared to one another, such as objects, arrays, functions...
Permutation number 0 is the set in the order given.
Permutation number factorial(a.length)-1 is the last one: the set a in reverse order.
Permutations outside this range are returned as undefined.
It can easily be converted to handle a set stored as an array:
function array_nth_permutation(a, n) {
var b = a.slice(); // copy of the set
var len = a.length; // length of the set
var res; // return value, undefined
var i, f;
// compute f = factorial(len)
for (f = i = 1; i <= len; i++)
f *= i;
// if the permutation number is within range
if (n >= 0 && n < f) {
// start with the empty set, loop for len elements
for (res = []; len > 0; len--) {
// determine the next element:
// there are f/len subsets for each possible element,
f /= len;
// a simple division gives the leading element index
i = Math.floor(n / f);
// alternately: i = (n - n % f) / f;
res.push(b.splice(i, 1)[0]);
// reduce n for the remaining subset:
// compute the remainder of the above division
n %= f;
// extract the i-th element from b and push it at the end of res
}
}
// return the permutated set or undefined if n is out of range
return res;
}
clarification:
f is first computed as factorial(len).
For each step, f is divided by len, giving exacty the previous factorial.
n divided by this new value of f gives the slot number among the len slots that have the same initial element. Javascript does not have integral division, we could use (n / f) ... 0) to convert the result of the division to its integral part but it introduces a limitation to sets of 12 elements. Math.floor(n / f) allows for sets of up to 18 elements. We could also use (n - n % f) / f, probably more efficient too.
n must be reduced to the permutation number within this slot, that is the remainder of the division n / f.
We could use i differently in the second loop, storing the division remainder, avoiding Math.floor() and the extra % operator. Here is an alternative for this loop that may be even less readable:
// start with the empty set, loop for len elements
for (res = []; len > 0; len--) {
i = n % (f /= len);
res.push(b.splice((n - i) / f, 1)[0]);
n = i;
}

I think this post should help you. The algorithm should be easily translatable to JavaScript (I think it is more than 70% already JavaScript-compatible).
slice and reverse are bad calls to use if you are after efficiency. The algorithm described in the post is following the most efficient implementation of the next_permutation function, that is even integrated in some programming languages (like C++ e.g.)
EDIT
As I iterated over the algorithm once again I think you can just remove the types of the variables and you should be good to go in JavaScript.
EDIT
JavaScript version:
function nextPermutation(array) {
// Find non-increasing suffix
var i = array.length - 1;
while (i > 0 && array[i - 1] >= array[i])
i--;
if (i <= 0)
return false;
// Find successor to pivot
var j = array.length - 1;
while (array[j] <= array[i - 1])
j--;
var temp = array[i - 1];
array[i - 1] = array[j];
array[j] = temp;
// Reverse suffix
j = array.length - 1;
while (i < j) {
temp = array[i];
array[i] = array[j];
array[j] = temp;
i++;
j--;
}
return true;
}

One method to create permutations is by adding each element in all of the spaces between elements in all of the results so far. This can be done without recursion using loops and a queue.
JavaScript code:
function ps(a){
var res = [[]];
for (var i=0; i<a.length; i++){
while(res[res.length-1].length == i){
var l = res.pop();
for (var j=0; j<=l.length; j++){
var copy = l.slice();
copy.splice(j,0,a[i]);
res.unshift(copy);
}
}
}
return res;
}
console.log(JSON.stringify(ps(['a','b','c','d'])));

Here could be another solution, inspired from the Steinhaus-Johnson-Trotter algorithm:
function p(input) {
var i, j, k, temp, base, current, outputs = [[input[0]]];
for (i = 1; i < input.length; i++) {
current = [];
for (j = 0; j < outputs.length; j++) {
base = outputs[j];
for (k = 0; k <= base.length; k++) {
temp = base.slice();
temp.splice(k, 0, input[i]);
current.push(temp);
}
}
outputs = current;
}
return outputs;
}
// call
var outputs = p(["a", "b", "c", "d"]);
for (var i = 0; i < outputs.length; i++) {
document.write(JSON.stringify(outputs[i]) + "<br />");
}

Here's a snippet for an approach that I came up with on my own, but naturally was also able to find it described elsewhere:
generatePermutations = function(arr) {
if (arr.length < 2) {
return arr.slice();
}
var factorial = [1];
for (var i = 1; i <= arr.length; i++) {
factorial.push(factorial[factorial.length - 1] * i);
}
var allPerms = [];
for (var permNumber = 0; permNumber < factorial[factorial.length - 1]; permNumber++) {
var unused = arr.slice();
var nextPerm = [];
while (unused.length) {
var nextIndex = Math.floor((permNumber % factorial[unused.length]) / factorial[unused.length - 1]);
nextPerm.push(unused[nextIndex]);
unused.splice(nextIndex, 1);
}
allPerms.push(nextPerm);
}
return allPerms;
};
Enter comma-separated string (e.g. a,b,c):
<br/>
<input id="arrInput" type="text" />
<br/>
<button onclick="perms.innerHTML = generatePermutations(arrInput.value.split(',')).join('<br/>')">
Generate permutations
</button>
<br/>
<div id="perms"></div>
Explanation
Since there are factorial(arr.length) permutations for a given array arr, each number between 0 and factorial(arr.length)-1 encodes a particular permutation. To unencode a permutation number, repeatedly remove elements from arr until there are no elements left. The exact index of which element to remove is given by the formula (permNumber % factorial(arr.length)) / factorial(arr.length-1). Other formulas could be used to determine the index to remove, as long as it preserves the one-to-one mapping between number and permutation.
Example
The following is how all permutations would be generated for the array (a,b,c,d):
# Perm 1st El 2nd El 3rd El 4th El
0 abcd (a,b,c,d)[0] (b,c,d)[0] (c,d)[0] (d)[0]
1 abdc (a,b,c,d)[0] (b,c,d)[0] (c,d)[1] (c)[0]
2 acbd (a,b,c,d)[0] (b,c,d)[1] (b,d)[0] (d)[0]
3 acdb (a,b,c,d)[0] (b,c,d)[1] (b,d)[1] (b)[0]
4 adbc (a,b,c,d)[0] (b,c,d)[2] (b,c)[0] (c)[0]
5 adcb (a,b,c,d)[0] (b,c,d)[2] (b,c)[1] (b)[0]
6 bacd (a,b,c,d)[1] (a,c,d)[0] (c,d)[0] (d)[0]
7 badc (a,b,c,d)[1] (a,c,d)[0] (c,d)[1] (c)[0]
8 bcad (a,b,c,d)[1] (a,c,d)[1] (a,d)[0] (d)[0]
9 bcda (a,b,c,d)[1] (a,c,d)[1] (a,d)[1] (a)[0]
10 bdac (a,b,c,d)[1] (a,c,d)[2] (a,c)[0] (c)[0]
11 bdca (a,b,c,d)[1] (a,c,d)[2] (a,c)[1] (a)[0]
12 cabd (a,b,c,d)[2] (a,b,d)[0] (b,d)[0] (d)[0]
13 cadb (a,b,c,d)[2] (a,b,d)[0] (b,d)[1] (b)[0]
14 cbad (a,b,c,d)[2] (a,b,d)[1] (a,d)[0] (d)[0]
15 cbda (a,b,c,d)[2] (a,b,d)[1] (a,d)[1] (a)[0]
16 cdab (a,b,c,d)[2] (a,b,d)[2] (a,b)[0] (b)[0]
17 cdba (a,b,c,d)[2] (a,b,d)[2] (a,b)[1] (a)[0]
18 dabc (a,b,c,d)[3] (a,b,c)[0] (b,c)[0] (c)[0]
19 dacb (a,b,c,d)[3] (a,b,c)[0] (b,c)[1] (b)[0]
20 dbac (a,b,c,d)[3] (a,b,c)[1] (a,c)[0] (c)[0]
21 dbca (a,b,c,d)[3] (a,b,c)[1] (a,c)[1] (a)[0]
22 dcab (a,b,c,d)[3] (a,b,c)[2] (a,b)[0] (b)[0]
23 dcba (a,b,c,d)[3] (a,b,c)[2] (a,b)[1] (a)[0]
Note that each permutation # is of the form:
(firstElIndex * 3!) + (secondElIndex * 2!) + (thirdElIndex * 1!) + (fourthElIndex * 0!)
which is basically the reverse process of the formula given in the explanation.

I dare to add another answer, aiming at answering you question regarding slice, concat, reverse.
The answer is it is possible (almost), but it would not be quite effective. What you are doing in your algorithm is the following:
Find the first inversion in the permutation array, right-to-left (inversion in this case defined as i and j where i < j and perm[i] > perm[j], indices given left-to-right)
place the bigger number of the inversion
concatenate the processed numbers in reversed order, which will be the same as sorted order, as no inversions were observed.
concatenate the second number of the inversion (still sorted in accordsnce with the previos number, as no inversions were observed)
This is mainly, what my first answer does, but in a bit more optimal manner.
Example
Consider the permutation 9,10, 11, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 ,3,2,1
The first inversion right-to-left is 10, 11.
And really the next permutation is:
9,11,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10=9concat(11)concat(rev(8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1))concat(10)
Source code
Here I include the source code as I envision it:
var nextPermutation = function(arr) {
for (var i = arr.length - 2; i >= 0; i--) {
if (arr[i] < arr[i + 1]) {
return arr.slice(0, i).concat([arr[i + 1]]).concat(arr.slice(i + 2).reverse()).concat([arr[i]]);
}
}
// return again the first permutation if calling next permutation on last.
return arr.reverse();
}
console.log(nextPermutation([9, 10, 11, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]));
console.log(nextPermutation([6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]));
console.log(nextPermutation([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]));
The code is avaiable for jsfiddle here.

A fairly simple C++ code without recursion.
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>
#include <iterator>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
// Integer data
void print_all_permutations(std::vector<int> &data) {
std::stable_sort(std::begin(data), std::end(data));
do {
std::copy(data.begin(), data.end(), std::ostream_iterator<int>(std::cout, " ")), std::cout << '\n';
} while (std::next_permutation(std::begin(data), std::end(data)));
}
// Character data (string)
void print_all_permutations(std::string &data) {
std::stable_sort(std::begin(data), std::end(data));
do {
std::copy(data.begin(), data.end(), std::ostream_iterator<char>(std::cout, " ")), std::cout << '\n';
} while (std::next_permutation(std::begin(data), std::end(data)));
}
int main()
{
std::vector<int> v({1,2,3,4});
print_all_permutations(v);
std::string s("abcd");
print_all_permutations(s);
return 0;
}
We can find next permutation of a sequence in linear time.

Here is an answer from #le_m. It might be of help.
The following very efficient algorithm uses Heap's method to generate all permutations of N elements with runtime complexity in O(N!):
function permute(permutation) {
var length = permutation.length,
result = [permutation.slice()],
c = new Array(length).fill(0),
i = 1, k, p;
while (i < length) {
if (c[i] < i) {
k = i % 2 && c[i];
p = permutation[i];
permutation[i] = permutation[k];
permutation[k] = p;
++c[i];
i = 1;
result.push(permutation.slice());
} else {
c[i] = 0;
++i;
}
}
return result;
}
console.log(JSON.stringify(permute([1, 2, 3, 4])));

You can use a stack to go through permutations.
This approach is ideal when dealing with trees or other problems while not leaning on recursion.
You will need to make adjustments to not have any duplicate values.
type permutation = [string, string[]]
function p(str: string): string[]{
const res: string[] = []
const stack: permutation[] = [["", str.split('')]]
while(stack.length){
const [head, tail] = stack.pop()
if(!tail.length){
res.push(head)
continue
}
for(let i = 0; i < tail.length; i++){
let newTail = tail.slice()
newTail.splice(i, 1)
stack.push([head + tail[i], newTail])
}
}
return res
}

Permute string until it matches some input?

I've looked this up online without much results because it's quite hard to describe in a few words.
Basically, I need to have a function, say puntil which takes the argument string. Basically, the function permutes until the string is equal to the argument.
For example if you run puntil('ab') it should do inside the function:
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab !! MATCH
Another example, for puntil('abcd') it will do
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
ah
ai
aj
ak
al
am
an
ao
ap
aq
ar
as
at
au
av
aw
ax
ay
az
... etc etc ..
until it matches abcd.
Basically an infinite permutation until it matches.
Any ideas?

Here is the fiddle
var alphabet = ['a','b','c'];//,'d','e','f','g','h','i','j','k','l','m','n','o','p','q','r','s','t','u','v','w','x','y','z'];
var output = "";
var match = "cccc"; //<----------- match here
//This is your main function
function permutate() {
var d = 0; // d for depth
while (true) {
//Your main alphabet iteration
for (var i=0; i<alphabet.length; i++){
//First level
if (d === 0) {
console.log(alphabet[i])
output = alphabet[i];
}
else
iterator(alphabet[i], d); //Call iterator for d > 0
if (output === match)
return;
}
d++; //Increase the depth
}
}
//This function runs n depths of iterations
function iterator(s, depth){
if (depth === 0)
return;
for (var i=0; i<alphabet.length; i++){
if (depth > 1)
iterator(s + alphabet[i], depth - 1)
else {
console.log(s + alphabet[i]);
output = s + alphabet[i];
}
if (output === match)
return;
}
};
Explanation:
Your program needs to traverse a tree of alphabet like this
[a]
-[a]
-[a]
-[a]...
-[b]...
[b] ...
-[b] -
-[a]...
-[b]...
[b] - ...
[c] - ...
This could have easily been done through a conventional recursive function if not for the requirement that you need to finish each depth first.
So we need a special iterator(s, depth) function which can perform number of nested iterations (depth) requested.
So the main function can call the iterator with increasing depths (d++).
That's all!!
Warning: This is a prototype only. This can be optimized and improved. It uses global variables for the ease of demonstrating. Your real program should avoid globals. Also I recommend calling the iterator() inside setTimeout if your match word is too long.
The n depths can only be limited by your resources.

Fiddle here
function next(charArray, rightBound){
if(!rightBound){
rightBound = charArray.length;
}
var oldValue = charArray[rightBound-1];
var newValue = nextCharacter(charArray[rightBound-1]);
charArray[rightBound-1] = newValue;
if(newValue < oldValue){
if(rightBound > 1){
next(charArray, rightBound-1);
}
else{
charArray.push('a');
}
}
return charArray;
}
function nextCharacter(char){
if(char === 'z'){
return 'a'
}
else{
return String.fromCharCode(char.charCodeAt(0) + 1)
}
}
function permuteUntil(word){
var charArray = ['a'];
var wordChain = ['a'];
while(next(charArray).join('') !== word){
wordChain.push(charArray.join(''));
}
wordChain.push(word);
return wordChain.join(', ');
}
alert(permuteUntil('ab'));

What OP is asking is a bit ambiguous, so I'll post for both the things (that I doubt) OP is asking.
First, the question can be, what will be the position of input string in the infinite permutation of alphabets (which I see as more legit question, I've given the reason later). This can be done in the following manner:
Taking an example (input = dhca). So, all strings of 1 to 3 characters length will come before this string. So, add: 26^1 + 26^2 + 26^3 to the answer. Then, 1st character is d, which means, following the dictionary, if 1st character is a | b | c, all characters past that are valid. So, add 3 * 26^3 to the answer. Now, say 1st character is d. Then, we can have all characters from a to g (7) and last 2 characters can be anything. So, add 7 * 26^2 to the answer. Going on in this way, we get the answer as:
26^1 + 26^2 + 26^3 + (3 * 26^3) + (7 * 26^2) + (2 * 26^1) + (0) + 1
= 75791
OK. Now the second thing, which I think OP is actually asking (to print all strings before we get a match). Now, why I think this is unfeasible is because if we have input as zzzzz (5 characters long) we need to print 26^1 + 26^2 + 26^3 + 26^4 + 26^5 strings, which is 12356630. So, for this part, I assume max length of input string is 5 (And definitely no more) because for 6 character length string, we need to print ~321272406 strings --> NOT POSSIBLE.
So, a simple solution to this can be:
Create an array of size 27 as: arr[] = {'', 'a', 'b', ..., 'y', 'z'}. 1st character is null.
Write 5 (max string length) nested loops from 0 to 26 (inclusive) and add it to dummy string and print it. Something like.
for i from 0 to 26
String a = "" + arr[i]
for j from 0 to 26
String b = a + arr[j]
for k from 0 to 26
String c = b + arr[k]
for l from 0 to 26
String d = c + arr[l]
for m from 0 to 26
String e = d + arr[m]
print e
if(e equals input string)
break from all loops //use some flag, goto statement etc.

You asked for a more elegant solution, here's a simple function that converts integers into lowercase strings of characters allowing you to easily iterate through strings.
function toWord(val, first, out) {
if(first == 1)
out = String.fromCharCode(97 + val % 26) + out;
else
out = String.fromCharCode(97 + (val-1) % 26) + out;
if(val % 26 == 0 && first == 0) {
val -= 26;
}
else {
val -= val %26;
}
val = val / 26;
if(val != 0)
return toWord(val, 0, out);
else
return out;
}
It's by no means perfect, but it's short and simple. When calling the function set val to be the integer you want to convert, first as 1, and out as "".
For example the following will apply yourFunction to the first 10,000 lowercase strings
for(int i=0; i<10000; i++) {
youFunction(toWord(i, 1, ""));
}

So you need to always start incrementing from a? Since they are char values you can easily do this with the following construct:
Note that this is a java solution :)
public static char[] increment(char[] arr, int pos) {
// get current position char
char currentChar = arr[pos];
// increment it by one
currentChar++;
// if it is at the end of it's range
boolean overflow = false;
if (currentChar > 'Z') {
overflow = true;
currentChar = 'A';
}
// always update current char
arr[pos] = currentChar;
if (overflow) {
if (pos == 0) {
// resize array and add new character
char[] newArr = new char[arr.length + 1];
System.arraycopy(arr, 0, newArr, 0, arr.length);
newArr[arr.length] = 'A';
arr = newArr;
} else {
// overflowed, increment one position back
arr = increment(arr, pos - 1);
}
}
return arr;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
final String stringToUse = "A";
final String stringToSearch = "ABCD";
char[] use = stringToUse.toCharArray();
for (;;) {
final String result = new String(use);
System.out.println("Candidate: " + result);
if (stringToSearch.equals(result)) {
System.out.println("Found!");
break;
}
use = increment(use, use.length - 1);
}
}

How to reduce consecutive integers in an array to hyphenated range expressions?

In JavaScript, how can I convert a sequence of numbers in an array to a range of numbers? In other words, I want to express consecutive occurring integers (no gaps) as hyphenated ranges.
[2,3,4,5,10,18,19,20] would become [2-5,10,18-20]
[1,6,7,9,10,12] would become [1,6-7,9-10,12]
[3,5,99] would remain [3,5,99]
[5,6,7,8,9,10,11] would become [5-11]

Here is an algorithm that I made some time ago, originally written for C#, now I ported it to JavaScript:
function getRanges(array) {
var ranges = [], rstart, rend;
for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
rstart = array[i];
rend = rstart;
while (array[i + 1] - array[i] == 1) {
rend = array[i + 1]; // increment the index if the numbers sequential
i++;
}
ranges.push(rstart == rend ? rstart+'' : rstart + '-' + rend);
}
return ranges;
}
getRanges([2,3,4,5,10,18,19,20]);
// returns ["2-5", "10", "18-20"]
getRanges([1,2,3,5,7,9,10,11,12,14 ]);
// returns ["1-3", "5", "7", "9-12", "14"]
getRanges([1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10])
// returns ["1-10"]

Just having fun with solution from CMS :
function getRanges (array) {
for (var ranges = [], rend, i = 0; i < array.length;) {
ranges.push ((rend = array[i]) + ((function (rstart) {
while (++rend === array[++i]);
return --rend === rstart;
})(rend) ? '' : '-' + rend));
}
return ranges;
}

Very nice question: here's my attempt:
function ranges(numbers){
var sorted = numbers.sort(function(a,b){return a-b;});
var first = sorted.shift();
return sorted.reduce(function(ranges, num){
if(num - ranges[0][1] <= 1){
ranges[0][1] = num;
} else {
ranges.unshift([num,num]);
}
return ranges;
},[[first,first]]).map(function(ranges){
return ranges[0] === ranges[1] ?
ranges[0].toString() : ranges.join('-');
}).reverse();
}
Demo on JSFiddler

I needed TypeScript code today to solve this very problem -- many years after the OP -- and decided to try a version written in a style more functional than the other answers here. Of course, only the parameter and return type annotations distinguish this code from standard ES6 JavaScript.
function toRanges(values: number[],
separator = '\u2013'): string[] {
return values
.slice()
.sort((p, q) => p - q)
.reduce((acc, cur, idx, src) => {
if ((idx > 0) && ((cur - src[idx - 1]) === 1))
acc[acc.length - 1][1] = cur;
else acc.push([cur]);
return acc;
}, [])
.map(range => range.join(separator));
}
Note that slice is necessary because sort sorts in place and we can't change the original array.

Here's my take on this...
function getRanges(input) {
//setup the return value
var ret = [], ary, first, last;
//copy and sort
var ary = input.concat([]);
ary.sort(function(a,b){
return Number(a) - Number(b);
});
//iterate through the array
for (var i=0; i<ary.length; i++) {
//set the first and last value, to the current iteration
first = last = ary[i];
//while within the range, increment
while (ary[i+1] == last+1) {
last++;
i++;
}
//push the current set into the return value
ret.push(first == last ? first : first + "-" + last);
}
//return the response array.
return ret;
}

Using ES6, a solution is:
function display ( vector ) { // assume vector sorted in increasing order
// display e.g.vector [ 2,4,5,6,9,11,12,13,15 ] as "2;4-6;9;11-13;15"
const l = vector.length - 1; // last valid index of vector array
// map [ 2,4,5,6,9,11,12,13,15 ] into array of strings (quote ommitted)
// --> [ "2;", "4-", "-", "6;", "9;", "11-", "-", "13;", "15;" ]
vector = vector.map ( ( n, i, v ) => // n is current number at index i of vector v
i < l && v [ i + 1 ] - n === 1 ? // next number is adjacent ?
`${ i > 0 && n - v [ i - 1 ] === 1 ? "" : n }-` :
`${ n };`
);
return vector.join ( "" ). // concatenate all strings in vector array
replace ( /-+/g, "-" ). // replace multiple dashes by single dash
slice ( 0, -1 ); // remove trailing ;
}
If you want to add extra spaces for readability, just add extra calls to string.prototype.replace().
If the input vector is not sorted, you can add the following line right after the opening brace of the display() function:
vector.sort ( ( a, b ) => a - b ); // sort vector in place, in increasing order.
Note that this could be improved to avoid testing twice for integer adjacentness (adjacenthood? I'm not a native English speaker;-).
And of course, if you don't want a single string as output, split it with ";".

Rough outline of the process is as follows:
Create an empty array called ranges
For each value in sorted input array
If ranges is empty then insert the item {min: value, max: value}
Else if max of last item in ranges and the current value are consecutive then set max of last item in ranges = value
Else insert the item {min: value, max: value}
Format the ranges array as desired e.g. by combining min and max if same
The following code uses Array.reduce and simplifies the logic by combining step 2.1 and 2.3.
function arrayToRange(array) {
return array
.slice()
.sort(function(a, b) {
return a - b;
})
.reduce(function(ranges, value) {
var lastIndex = ranges.length - 1;
if (lastIndex === -1 || ranges[lastIndex].max !== value - 1) {
ranges.push({ min: value, max: value });
} else {
ranges[lastIndex].max = value;
}
return ranges;
}, [])
.map(function(range) {
return range.min !== range.max ? range.min + "-" + range.max : range.min.toString();
});
}
console.log(arrayToRange([2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 18, 19, 20]));

If you simply want a string that represents a range, then you'd find the mid-point of your sequence, and that becomes your middle value (10 in your example). You'd then grab the first item in the sequence, and the item that immediately preceded your mid-point, and build your first-sequence representation. You'd follow the same procedure to get your last item, and the item that immediately follows your mid-point, and build your last-sequence representation.
// Provide initial sequence
var sequence = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10];
// Find midpoint
var midpoint = Math.ceil(sequence.length/2);
// Build first sequence from midpoint
var firstSequence = sequence[0] + "-" + sequence[midpoint-2];
// Build second sequence from midpoint
var lastSequence = sequence[midpoint] + "-" + sequence[sequence.length-1];
// Place all new in array
var newArray = [firstSequence,midpoint,lastSequence];
alert(newArray.join(",")); // 1-4,5,6-10
Demo Online: http://jsbin.com/uvahi/edit

; For all cells of the array
;if current cell = prev cell + 1 -> range continues
;if current cell != prev cell + 1 -> range ended
int[] x = [2,3,4,5,10,18,19,20]
string output = '['+x[0]
bool range = false; --current range
for (int i = 1; i > x[].length; i++) {
if (x[i+1] = [x]+1) {
range = true;
} else { //not sequential
if range = true
output = output || '-'
else
output = output || ','
output.append(x[i]','||x[i+1])
range = false;
}
}
Something like that.

An adaptation of CMS's javascript solution for Cold Fusion
It does sort the list first so that 1,3,2,4,5,8,9,10 (or similar) properly converts to 1-5,8-10.
<cfscript>
function getRanges(nArr) {
arguments.nArr = listToArray(listSort(arguments.nArr,"numeric"));
var ranges = [];
var rstart = "";
var rend = "";
for (local.i = 1; i <= ArrayLen(arguments.nArr); i++) {
rstart = arguments.nArr[i];
rend = rstart;
while (i < ArrayLen(arguments.nArr) and (val(arguments.nArr[i + 1]) - val(arguments.nArr[i])) == 1) {
rend = val(arguments.nArr[i + 1]); // increment the index if the numbers sequential
i++;
}
ArrayAppend(ranges,rstart == rend ? rstart : rstart & '-' & rend);
}
return arraytolist(ranges);
}
</cfscript>

Tiny ES6 module for you guys. It accepts a function to determine when we must break the sequence (breakDetectorFunc param - default is the simple thing for integer sequence input).
NOTICE: since input is abstract - there's no auto-sorting before processing, so if your sequence isn't sorted - do it prior to calling this module
function defaultIntDetector(a, b){
return Math.abs(b - a) > 1;
}
/**
* #param {Array} valuesArray
* #param {Boolean} [allArraysResult=false] if true - [1,2,3,7] will return [[1,3], [7,7]]. Otherwise [[1.3], 7]
* #param {SequenceToIntervalsBreakDetector} [breakDetectorFunc] must return true if value1 and value2 can't be in one sequence (if we need a gap here)
* #return {Array}
*/
const sequenceToIntervals = function (valuesArray, allArraysResult, breakDetectorFunc) {
if (!breakDetectorFunc){
breakDetectorFunc = defaultIntDetector;
}
if (typeof(allArraysResult) === 'undefined'){
allArraysResult = false;
}
const intervals = [];
let from = 0, to;
if (valuesArray instanceof Array) {
const cnt = valuesArray.length;
for (let i = 0; i < cnt; i++) {
to = i;
if (i < cnt - 1) { // i is not last (to compare to next)
if (breakDetectorFunc(valuesArray[i], valuesArray[i + 1])) {
// break
appendLastResult();
}
}
}
appendLastResult();
} else {
throw new Error("input is not an Array");
}
function appendLastResult(){
if (isFinite(from) && isFinite(to)) {
const vFrom = valuesArray[from];
const vTo = valuesArray[to];
if (from === to) {
intervals.push(
allArraysResult
? [vFrom, vTo] // same values array item
: vFrom // just a value, no array
);
} else if (Math.abs(from - to) === 1) { // sibling items
if (allArraysResult) {
intervals.push([vFrom, vFrom]);
intervals.push([vTo, vTo]);
} else {
intervals.push(vFrom, vTo);
}
} else {
intervals.push([vFrom, vTo]); // true interval
}
from = to + 1;
}
}
return intervals;
};
module.exports = sequenceToIntervals;
/** #callback SequenceToIntervalsBreakDetector
#param value1
#param value2
#return bool
*/
first argument is the input sequence sorted array, second is a boolean flag controlling the output mode: if true - single item (outside the intervals) will be returned as arrays anyway: [1,7],[9,9],[10,10],[12,20], otherwise single items returned as they appear in the input array
for your sample input
[2,3,4,5,10,18,19,20]
it will return:
sequenceToIntervals([2,3,4,5,10,18,19,20], true) // [[2,5], [10,10], [18,20]]
sequenceToIntervals([2,3,4,5,10,18,19,20], false) // [[2,5], 10, [18,20]]
sequenceToIntervals([2,3,4,5,10,18,19,20]) // [[2,5], 10, [18,20]]

Here's a version in Coffeescript
getRanges = (array) ->
ranges = []
rstart
rend
i = 0
while i < array.length
rstart = array[i]
rend = rstart
while array[i + 1] - array[i] is 1
rend = array[i + 1] # increment the index if the numbers sequential
i = i + 1
if rstart == rend
ranges.push rstart + ''
else
ranges.push rstart + '-' + rend
i = i + 1
return ranges

I've written my own method that's dependent on Lo-Dash, but doesn't just give you back an array of ranges, rather, it just returns an array of range groups.
[1,2,3,4,6,8,10] becomes:
[[1,2,3,4],[6,8,10]]
http://jsfiddle.net/mberkom/ufVey/

Repeat a string in JavaScript a number of times

In Perl I can repeat a character multiple times using the syntax:
$a = "a" x 10; // results in "aaaaaaaaaa"
Is there a simple way to accomplish this in Javascript? I can obviously use a function, but I was wondering if there was any built in approach, or some other clever technique.

These days, the repeat string method is implemented almost everywhere. (It is not in Internet Explorer.) So unless you need to support older browsers, you can simply write:
"a".repeat(10)
Before repeat, we used this hack:
Array(11).join("a") // create string with 10 a's: "aaaaaaaaaa"
(Note that an array of length 11 gets you only 10 "a"s, since Array.join puts the argument between the array elements.)
Simon also points out that according to this benchmark, it appears that it's faster in Safari and Chrome (but not Firefox) to repeat a character multiple times by simply appending using a for loop (although a bit less concise).

In a new ES6 harmony, you will have native way for doing this with repeat. Also ES6 right now only experimental, this feature is already available in Edge, FF, Chrome and Safari
"abc".repeat(3) // "abcabcabc"
And surely if repeat function is not available you can use old-good Array(n + 1).join("abc")

Convenient if you repeat yourself a lot:
String.prototype.repeat = String.prototype.repeat || function(n){
n= n || 1;
return Array(n+1).join(this);
}
alert( 'Are we there yet?\nNo.\n'.repeat(10) )

Array(10).fill('a').join('')
Although the most voted answer is a bit more compact, with this approach you don't have to add an extra array item.

An alternative is:
for(var word = ''; word.length < 10; word += 'a'){}
If you need to repeat multiple chars, multiply your conditional:
for(var word = ''; word.length < 10 * 3; word += 'foo'){}
NOTE: You do not have to overshoot by 1 as with word = Array(11).join('a')

The most performance-wice way is https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/repeat
Short version is below.
String.prototype.repeat = function(count) {
if (count < 1) return '';
var result = '', pattern = this.valueOf();
while (count > 1) {
if (count & 1) result += pattern;
count >>>= 1, pattern += pattern;
}
return result + pattern;
};
var a = "a";
console.debug(a.repeat(10));
Polyfill from Mozilla:
if (!String.prototype.repeat) {
String.prototype.repeat = function(count) {
'use strict';
if (this == null) {
throw new TypeError('can\'t convert ' + this + ' to object');
}
var str = '' + this;
count = +count;
if (count != count) {
count = 0;
}
if (count < 0) {
throw new RangeError('repeat count must be non-negative');
}
if (count == Infinity) {
throw new RangeError('repeat count must be less than infinity');
}
count = Math.floor(count);
if (str.length == 0 || count == 0) {
return '';
}
// Ensuring count is a 31-bit integer allows us to heavily optimize the
// main part. But anyway, most current (August 2014) browsers can't handle
// strings 1 << 28 chars or longer, so:
if (str.length * count >= 1 << 28) {
throw new RangeError('repeat count must not overflow maximum string size');
}
var rpt = '';
for (;;) {
if ((count & 1) == 1) {
rpt += str;
}
count >>>= 1;
if (count == 0) {
break;
}
str += str;
}
// Could we try:
// return Array(count + 1).join(this);
return rpt;
}
}

If you're not opposed to including a library in your project, lodash has a repeat function.
_.repeat('*', 3);
// → '***
https://lodash.com/docs#repeat

For all browsers
The following function will perform a lot faster than the option suggested in the accepted answer:
var repeat = function(str, count) {
var array = [];
for(var i = 0; i < count;)
array[i++] = str;
return array.join('');
}
You'd use it like this :
var repeatedString = repeat("a", 10);
To compare the performance of this function with that of the option proposed in the accepted answer, see this Fiddle and this Fiddle for benchmarks.
For moderns browsers only
In modern browsers, you can now do this using String.prototype.repeat method:
var repeatedString = "a".repeat(10);
Read more about this method on MDN.
This option is even faster. Unfortunately, it doesn't work in any version of Internet explorer. The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the method:

In ES2015/ES6 you can use "*".repeat(n)
So just add this to your projects, and your are good to go.
String.prototype.repeat = String.prototype.repeat ||
function(n) {
if (n < 0) throw new RangeError("invalid count value");
if (n == 0) return "";
return new Array(n + 1).join(this.toString())
};

String.repeat() is supported by 96.39% of browsers as of now.
function pad(text, maxLength){
return text + "0".repeat(maxLength - text.length);
}
console.log(pad('text', 7)); //text000

/**
* Repeat a string `n`-times (recursive)
* #param {String} s - The string you want to repeat.
* #param {Number} n - The times to repeat the string.
* #param {String} d - A delimiter between each string.
*/
var repeat = function (s, n, d) {
return --n ? s + (d || "") + repeat(s, n, d) : "" + s;
};
var foo = "foo";
console.log(
"%s\n%s\n%s\n%s",
repeat(foo), // "foo"
repeat(foo, 2), // "foofoo"
repeat(foo, "2"), // "foofoo"
repeat(foo, 2, "-") // "foo-foo"
);

Just for the fun of it, here is another way by using the toFixed(), used to format floating point numbers.
By doing
(0).toFixed(2)
(0).toFixed(3)
(0).toFixed(4)
we get
0.00
0.000
0.0000
If the first two characters 0. are deleted, we can use this repeating pattern to generate any repetition.
function repeat(str, nTimes) {
return (0).toFixed(nTimes).substr(2).replaceAll('0', str);
}
console.info(repeat('3', 5));
console.info(repeat('hello ', 4));

Another interesting way to quickly repeat n character is to use idea from quick exponentiation algorithm:
var repeatString = function(string, n) {
var result = '', i;
for (i = 1; i <= n; i *= 2) {
if ((n & i) === i) {
result += string;
}
string = string + string;
}
return result;
};

For repeat a value in my projects i use repeat
For example:
var n = 6;
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
console.log("#".repeat(i+1))
}
but be careful because this method has been added to the ECMAScript 6 specification.

function repeatString(n, string) {
var repeat = [];
repeat.length = n + 1;
return repeat.join(string);
}
repeatString(3,'x'); // => xxx
repeatString(10,'🌹'); // => "🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹"

This is how you can call a function and get the result by the helps of Array() and join()
using Typescript and arrow fun
const repeatString = (str: string, num: number) => num > 0 ?
Array(num+1).join(str) : "";
console.log(repeatString("🌷",10))
//outputs: 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷
function repeatString(str, num) {
// Array(num+1) is the string you want to repeat and the times to repeat the string
return num > 0 ? Array(num+1).join(str) : "";
}
console.log(repeatString("a",10))
// outputs: aaaaaaaaaa
console.log(repeatString("🌷",10))
//outputs: 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

Here is what I use:
function repeat(str, num) {
var holder = [];
for(var i=0; i<num; i++) {
holder.push(str);
}
return holder.join('');
}

I realize that it's not a popular task, what if you need to repeat your string not an integer number of times?
It's possible with repeat() and slice(), here's how:
String.prototype.fracRepeat = function(n){
if(n < 0) n = 0;
var n_int = ~~n; // amount of whole times to repeat
var n_frac = n - n_int; // amount of fraction times (e.g., 0.5)
var frac_length = ~~(n_frac * this.length); // length in characters of fraction part, floored
return this.repeat(n) + this.slice(0, frac_length);
}
And below a shortened version:
String.prototype.fracRepeat = function(n){
if(n < 0) n = 0;
return this.repeat(n) + this.slice(0, ~~((n - ~~n) * this.length));
}
var s = "abcd";
console.log(s.fracRepeat(2.5))

I'm going to expand on #bonbon's answer. His method is an easy way to "append N chars to an existing string", just in case anyone needs to do that. For example since "a google" is a 1 followed by 100 zeros.
for(var google = '1'; google.length < 1 + 100; google += '0'){}
document.getElementById('el').innerText = google;
<div>This is "a google":</div>
<div id="el"></div>
NOTE: You do have to add the length of the original string to the conditional.

Lodash offers a similar functionality as the Javascript repeat() function which is not available in all browers. It is called _.repeat and available since version 3.0.0:
_.repeat('a', 10);

var stringRepeat = function(string, val) {
var newString = [];
for(var i = 0; i < val; i++) {
newString.push(string);
}
return newString.join('');
}
var repeatedString = stringRepeat("a", 1);

Can be used as a one-liner too:
function repeat(str, len) {
while (str.length < len) str += str.substr(0, len-str.length);
return str;
}

In CoffeeScript:
( 'a' for dot in [0..10]).join('')

String.prototype.repeat = function (n) { n = Math.abs(n) || 1; return Array(n + 1).join(this || ''); };
// console.log("0".repeat(3) , "0".repeat(-3))
// return: "000" "000"