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Why does this for loop in Javascript give me a number instead of the list of numbers from 0 to 4?

I know that the normal behavior of a for loop is similar to this:
for(let i = 0; i<5; i++){
console.log(i);
}
which gives me this result:
0
1
2
3
4
However the following code gives me a 5 as a result and I do not know why it doesn't give me a result similar to the example above.It doesn't behave as a for loop because it doesn't have into account the initializer. Thanks a lot for your help.
function charCount(str){
for(var i=2;i<=str.length;i++){
result = [i]
}
return result;
}
charCount('hello')

function charCount(str) {
result=[];
for(var i=2;i<=str.length;i++){
result.push(i);
}
return result;
}
charCount('hello')
When doing result=[i], you are just resetting whole array, push() appends i to the existing array in every iteration.

This code return "5" because
In your code you return last value of result
for example you pass string "hello" then for loop iterate 2 to 5(str.length) so in the last result variable has a value as 5 so when you return result valriable it return 5.
for returning all number 0 to 5 then modify your code
result.push(i)
so every time number store iin result list and in the last you return that list

You can also iterate through the count and push the values into a new array using the keys without .push() by referencing the key in a bracket within the for loop. By assigning the arrays key value with a bracket before you define the next value, you are ensuring that you are iterating through to a new key\value pair inside the array with each iteration up to the str length.
function charCount(str) {
result=[];
for(var i = 0; i < str.length; i++){
result[i] = i;
}
return result;
}
console.log(charCount('hello'))
Also consider the following code using a forEach loop where you can define your key/value pairs for parsing within the loop...
function charCount(str) {
result=[];
str = str.split(''); // split the string
str.forEach(function(value, index){
result[index] = value;
// or result[index] = index --> to push in the numbered values of the keys as values to the array --> [0,1,2,3,4];
})
return result;
}
console.log(charCount('hello'))

Learning While Loops. Can't figure out what I am missing in my code.

Write a function called indexToString. This function should:
1. Take an array as an argument
2. Create and return a new array of all passed array elements as strings
3. Each strings should be formatted like so: “[index] is [element at index]”
This is the error I am getting: returns an array of passed-in array elements as strings with element index specified
expected undefined to deeply equal [ '0 is 1', '1 is 2', '2 is 3' ]
Here is my code:
var indexToString = function(array){
index = 0;
elementAtIndex = 0;
var i = 0;
while(i < array.length){
console.log(index + " is " + elementAtIndex);
i++
}
return array[i];
};

Two Three errors.
Firstly, the while loop will exit when i is no longer less than array.length; the first such number is array.length. This means, at the end of the loop, array[i] is array[array.length], which is just outside the array, thus undefined.
Secondly, you are supposed to return an array of strings, as told by your test failure message; not print them to the console.
EDIT: Thirdly, what Spencer said. :) Use i instead of index, and array[i] instead of elementAtIndex.
You want to start with an empty array outside the loop, and push each string you construct into it; then return that array after the loop.
Or you can do it with "new" JavaScript:
var indexToString = array => array.map((e, i) => `${i} is ${e}`)

You should reflect a bit more on your code, it is quite nonsense so far.
Let's decompose the question to identify what should be done:
Write a function called indexToString. This function should:
Take an array as an argument
Create and return a new array of all passed array elements as strings
Each strings should be formatted like so: “[index] is [element at index]”
So:
you create a function called indexToString which body contains the code, as you did.
In the initialization part before your while, you should create a new empty array that is going to be filled, and declare an integer called index for example initialized at 0 that is going to be used to loop through the original array. (Tip: var new_array = []; to create, and use new_array.push(elem); to append an element)
in your while, you should push at the end of your new array a string built as follow: "["+index+"] is ["+array[index]+"]" AND you should increment your index. You loop while(index < array.length).
At the end, you can return the new array !
Good luck with learning programming!

If the arraylenth is 10, the function will return array[10].This is an array-bound.

When you enter the last loop, the i becomes equal to array.length, so array[i] is undefined after this. But probably this is not what you wanted. you want to return the full array.
var indexToString = function(array){
var new_array = [];
var i = 0;
while(i < array.length){
new_array[i] = i + " is " + array[i];
i++;
}
return new_array;
};
console.log(indexToString([1,2,3]));

JavaScript function that takes an array as a parameter

I am trying to create a JavaScript function that takes an array as a parameter and returns the first item in the array. This should work for an array of any size. Here is what I have so far, it appears to work just fine in the console but my instructor says there's a better way to do this:
var array = [];
function numbaOne(array) {
for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
console.log(array[0])
};
}
Any help would be appreciated. I've read about data structures and arrays but can't figure out how to simplify or make this better.

What you are doing is looping over the array and printing out the first item each time. You just want:
var array = [...];
function numbaOne(array) {
console.log(array[0]); // Print out the first value of the array
return array[0]; // Return the first value of the array
}
There is one edge case here. If the array is empty, then the function will fail because array[0] will be undefined.
So, a more complete version might be:
var array = [...];
function numbaOne(array) {
if(array.length > 0) { // Check if there is anything in the array
console.log(array[0]);
return array[0];
} else { // If there isn't, let's return something "bad"
console.log("The array is empty!");
return undefined;
}
}

forEach works - why not for loop?

I'm working on the flatten kata at codewars.com - my code closely resembles a solution I've found, so I feel like my logic is on the right track. But I can't seem to get my code to work and I don't know if it's a dumb syntax error or if I'm doing something fundamentally incorrect.
Instructions:
Write a function that flattens an Array of Array objects into a flat Array. Your function
must only do one level of flattening.
flatten([[1,2,3],["a","b","c"],[1,2,3]]) // => [1,2,3,"a","b","c",1,2,3]
Working solution using forEach:
var flatten = function (lol){
var res = [];
lol.forEach(function (x) {
if (x instanceof Array)
res = res.concat(x);
else
res.push(x);
});
return res;
}
My code using for loops:
var flatten = function (array){
var newArray = [];
for (i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
if (i instanceof Array)
for (e = 0; e < i.length; e++) {
newArray.push(e);
}
else
newArray.push(i);
}
return newArray;
}

The most important reason why it isn't working is that you are treating your indices (i and e) as if they were the actual array elements (hence, the sub Arrays themselves). i is not the actual array, and does not have any array properties. It is just a number.
Each element must be referenced via the array[index], so in the case of the array argument, in the top loop, you would check array[i], but most importantly, if it is not an array, that is what you would push().
In your inner loop, you face a similar issue with e. However, you cannot simply do array[e] as the array you would be looking at would be array[i]. The proper way to address this is to make another variable for the array OR simply array[i][e]. Again, this is the value you would push().
I understand that this answer is a little vague, but it is intentionally so, as this is obviously an assignment from which you are trying to learn.

You need to use the value of the original array to push/concat into the new one. Also, you don't need to check the type, you can just concat everything:
var flatten = function (array) {
var newArray = [];
var arrayLength = array.length;
for (i = 0; i < arrayLength; i++) {
newArray = newArray.concat(array[i]);
}
return newArray;
}

if (array[i] instanceof Array)
Your algorithm looks fine, but you are referencing a Number index where you mean to be referencing an array element. Fix this in 3 places and your code should work.

Spoiler:
var flatten = function (array){
var newArray = [];
for (i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
if (array[i] instanceof Array)
newArray = newArray.concat(array[i]);
else
newArray.push(array[i]);
}
return newArray;
}

Get first element of a sparse JavaScript array

I have an array of objects in javascript. I use jquery.
How do i get the first element in the array? I cant use the array index - as I assign each elements index when I am adding the objects to the array. So the indexes arent 0, 1, 2 etc.
Just need to get the first element of the array?

If you don't use sequentially numbered elements, you'll have to loop through until you hit the first one:
var firstIndex = 0;
while (firstIndex < myarray.length && myarray[firstIndex] === undefined) {
firstIndex++;
}
if (firstIndex < myarray.length) {
var firstElement = myarray[firstIndex];
} else {
// no elements.
}
or some equivalently silly construction. This gets you the first item's index, which you might or might not care about it.
If this is something you need to do often, you should keep a lookaside reference to the current first valid index, so this becomes an O(1) operation instead of O(n) every time. If you're frequently needing to iterate through a truly sparse array, consider another data structure, like keeping an object alongside it that back-maps ordinal results to indexes, or something that fits your data.

The filter method works with sparse arrays.
var first = array.filter(x => true)[0];

Have you considered:
function getFirstIndex(array){
var result;
if(array instanceof Array){
for(var i in array){
result = i;
break;
}
} else {
return null;
}
return result;
}
?
And as a way to get the last element in the array:
function getLastIndex(array){
var result;
if(array instanceof Array){
result = array.push("");
array.pop;
}
} else {
return null;
}
return result;
}
Neither of these uses jquery.

Object.keys(array)[0] returns the index (in String form) of the first element in the sparse array.
var array = [];
array[2] = true;
array[5] = undefined;
var keys = Object.keys(array); // => ["2", "5"]
var first = Number(keys[0]); // => 2
var last = Number(keys[keys.length - 1]); // => 5

I was also facing a similar problem and was surprised that no one has considered the following:
var testArray = [];
testArray [1245]= 31;
testArray[2045] = 45;
for(index in testArray){
console.log(index+','+testArray[index])
}
The above will produce
1245,31
2045,45
If needed you could exist after the first iteration if all that was required but generally we need to know where in the array to begin.

This is a proposal with ES5 method with Array#some.
The code gets the first nonsparse element and the index. The iteration stops immediately with returning true in the callback:
var a = [, , 22, 33],
value,
index;
a.some(function (v, i) {
value = v;
index = i;
return true;
});
console.log(index, value);

If you find yourself needing to do manipulation of arrays a lot, you might be interested in the Underscore library. It provides utility methods for manipulating arrays, for example compact:
var yourArray = [];
yourArray[10] = "foo";
var firstValue = _.compact(yourArray)[0];
However, it does sound like you are doing something strange when you are constructing your array. Perhaps Array.push would help you out?