How does array length work in javascript?

The length property of an object which is an instance of type Array sets or returns the number of elements in that array. The value is an unsigned, 32-bit integer that is always numerically greater than the highest index in the array.

Try it

Description

The value of the length property is an integer with a positive sign and a value less than 2 to the 32nd power (2^32).

const listA = [1,2,3];
const listB = new Array(6);

console.log(listA.length);
// 3

console.log(listB.length);
// 6

listB.length = 4294967296; //2 to the 32nd power = 4294967296
// RangeError: Invalid array length

const listC = new Array(-100) //negative sign
// RangeError: Invalid array length

You can set the length property to truncate an array at any time. When you extend an array by changing its length property, the number of actual elements increases; for example, if you set length to 3 when it is currently 2, the array now contains 3 elements, which causes the third element to be a non-iterable empty slot.

const arr = [1, 2];
console.log(arr);
// [ 1, 2 ]

arr.length = 5; // set array length to 5 while currently 2.
console.log(arr);
// [ 1, 2, <3 empty items> ]

arr.forEach((element) => console.log(element));
// 1
// 2

As you can see, the length property does not necessarily indicate the number of defined values in the array. See also Relationship between length and numerical properties.

  • Writable: If this attribute set to false, the value of the property cannot be changed.
  • Configurable: If this attribute set to false, any attempts to delete the property or change its attributes (Writable, Configurable, or Enumerable) will fail.
  • Enumerable: If this attribute set to true, the property will be iterated over during for or for...in loops.

Examples

Iterating over an array

In the following example, the array numbers is iterated through by looking at the length property. The value in each element is then doubled.

const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
const length = numbers.length;
for (let i = 0; i < length; i++) {
  numbers[i] *= 2;
}
// numbers is now [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]

Shortening an array

The following example shortens the array numbers to a length of 3 if the current length is greater than 3.

const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

if (numbers.length > 3) {
  numbers.length = 3;
}

console.log(numbers); // [1, 2, 3]
console.log(numbers.length); // 3

Create empty array of fixed length

const numbers = [];
numbers.length = 3;
console.log(numbers); // [empty x 3]

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript Language Specification
# sec-properties-of-array-instances-length

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also

What does array length 1 mean in JavaScript?

length -1 means, specifically the -1 part. When using a for loop over an array we have something like this: for (i = 0; i < array.

How is array length calculated?

To determine the size of your array in bytes, you can use the sizeof operator: int a[17]; size_t n = sizeof(a); On my computer, ints are 4 bytes long, so n is 68. To determine the number of elements in the array, we can divide the total size of the array by the size of the array element.

Are JavaScript arrays fixed length?

A. length will always be 2. This is the way that typed arrays (eg Float32Array ) already work. They have fixed size.

How does the length property work?

length is a writable property of array. You can set the length property to truncate an array at any time. When you extend an array by changing its length property, the number of actual elements does not increase; for example, if you set length to 3 when it is currently 2, the array still contains only 2 elements.