Iterators
In this course, you will learn how to use iterator methods to simplify the process of looping over arrays.
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Key Concepts
Review core concepts you need to learn to master this subject
Functions Assigned to Variables
Callback Functions
Higher-Order Functions
Array Method .reduce()
Array Method .forEach()
Array Method .filter()
Array Method .map()
Functions Assigned to Variables
Functions Assigned to Variables
let plusFive = (number) => {
return number + 5;
};
// f is assigned the value of plusFive
let f = plusFive;
plusFive(3); // 8
// Since f has a function value, it can be invoked.
f(9); // 14
In JavaScript, functions are a data type just as strings, numbers, and arrays are data types. Therefore, functions can be assigned as values to variables, but are different from all other data types because they can be invoked.
Callback Functions
Callback Functions
let plusFive = (number) => {
return number + 5;
};
// f is assigned the value of plusFive
let f = plusFive;
plusFive(3); // 8
// Since f has a function value, it can be invoked.
f(9); // 14
In JavaScript, a callback function is a function that is passed into another function as an argument. This function can then be invoked during the execution of that higher order function (that it is an argument of).
Since, in JavaScript, functions are objects, functions can be passed as arguments.
Higher-Order Functions
Higher-Order Functions
let plusFive = (number) => {
return number + 5;
};
// f is assigned the value of plusFive
let f = plusFive;
plusFive(3); // 8
// Since f has a function value, it can be invoked.
f(9); // 14
In Javascript, functions can be assigned to variables in the same way that strings or arrays can. They can be passed into other functions as parameters or returned from them as well.
A “higher-order function” is a function that accepts functions as parameters and/or returns a function.
Array Method .reduce()
Array Method .reduce()
let plusFive = (number) => {
return number + 5;
};
// f is assigned the value of plusFive
let f = plusFive;
plusFive(3); // 8
// Since f has a function value, it can be invoked.
f(9); // 14
The .reduce() method iterates through an array and returns a single value.
It takes a callback function with two parameters (accumulator, currentValue) as arguments. On each iteration, accumulator is the value returned by the last iteration, and the currentValue is the current element. Optionally, a second argument can be passed which acts as the initial value of the accumulator.
Here, the .reduce() method will sum all the elements of the array.
Array Method .forEach()
Array Method .forEach()
let plusFive = (number) => {
return number + 5;
};
// f is assigned the value of plusFive
let f = plusFive;
plusFive(3); // 8
// Since f has a function value, it can be invoked.
f(9); // 14
The .forEach() method executes a callback function on each of the elements in an array in order.
Here, the callback function containing a console.log() method will be executed 5 times, once for each element.
Array Method .filter()
Array Method .filter()
let plusFive = (number) => {
return number + 5;
};
// f is assigned the value of plusFive
let f = plusFive;
plusFive(3); // 8
// Since f has a function value, it can be invoked.
f(9); // 14
The .filter() method executes a callback function on each element in an array. The callback function for each of the elements must return either true or false. The returned array is a new array with any elements for which the callback function returns true.
Here, the array filteredArray will contain all the elements of randomNumbers but 4.
Array Method .map()
Array Method .map()
let plusFive = (number) => {
return number + 5;
};
// f is assigned the value of plusFive
let f = plusFive;
plusFive(3); // 8
// Since f has a function value, it can be invoked.
f(9); // 14
The .map() method executes a callback function on each element in an array. It returns a new array made up of the return values from the callback function.
The original array does not get altered, and the returned array may contain different elements than the original array.
- 1We are often unaware of the number of assumptions we make when we communicate with other people in our native languages. If we told you to “count to three,” we would expect you to say or think the …
- 2JavaScript functions behave like any other data type in the language; we can assign functions to variables, and we can reassign them to new variables. Below, we have an annoyingly long function n…
- 3Since functions can behave like any other type of data in JavaScript, it might not surprise you to learn that we can also pass functions (into other functions) as parameters. A _higher-order functi…
- 1Imagine you had a grocery list and you wanted to know what each item on the list was. You’d have to scan through each row and check for the item. This common task is similar to what we have to do w…
- 2The first iteration method that we’re going to learn is .forEach(). Aptly named, .forEach() will execute the same code for each element of an array. The code above will log a nicely formatted …
- 3The second iterator we’re going to cover is .map(). When .map() is called on an array, it takes an argument of a callback function and returns a new array! Take a look at an example of calling .map…
- 4Another useful iterator method is .filter(). Like .map(), .filter() returns a new array. However, .filter() returns an array of elements after filtering out certain elements from the original array…
- 5We sometimes want to find the location of an element in an array. That’s where the .findIndex() method comes in! Calling .findIndex() on an array will return the index of the first element that eva…
- 6Another widely used iteration method is .reduce(). The .reduce() method returns a single value after iterating through the elements of an array, thereby reducing the array. Take a look at the ex…
- 7There are many additional built-in array methods, a complete list of which is on the MDN’s Array iteration methods page . The documentation for each method contains several sections: 1. A shor…
- 8There are many iteration methods you can choose. In addition to learning the correct syntax for the use of iteration methods, it is also important to learn how to choose the correct method for diff…
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Iterators
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