Loops through Array executes "else" even when "if" statement is true (Javascript)

Question

Simple question.. Not sure why this is happening...

Question: the "else" runs even when the if statement is true..

In this case...

The City entered is "Los Angelos" which is an array element of var "theAnswers" Meaning the alert should run and the program should finish...

What happens instead..

The program displays the else alert.. then displays the proper alert(if). See for yourself...

var theAnswers = ["New York City", "Chicago", "Los Angelos", "Cleveland", "Ohio", "Seattle", "Boston", "Miami", "Philadelphia"];

var userAnswer = prompt("I am thinking of a Major City.. guess which one it is?", "Los Angelos");
userAnswer = userAnswer.toLowerCase();

for (var i = 0; i < theAnswers.length; i++) {
    if (userAnswer === theAnswers[i].toLowerCase()) {
        alert("Good, your guess is correct. You get one point!");
        break;
    }

    else{
        alert("Hmm... not quite the City I was looking for... Better luck next time!");

    }
}

@exexzian sure can.. excuse me for not doing so earlier. I thought you could run it directly from SO. jsfiddle.net/6rctjxot/#&togetherjs=cBb3GxLTAP — Mike
– Mike, Commented May 24, 2015 at 16:16

Guffa · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-24 09:03:29Z

2

That's because you are showing the message in the else for each check that you make. It will show the message for each city that doesn't match. Look through all the cities first, then show the result once:

var found = false;
for (var i = 0; i < theAnswers.length; i++) {
    if (userAnswer === theAnswers[i].toLowerCase()) {
        found = true;
        break;
    }
}
if (found) {
    alert("Good, your guess is correct. You get one point!");
}else{
    alert("Hmm... not quite the City I was looking for... Better luck next time!");
}

answered May 24, 2015 at 9:03

Guffa

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1 Comment

Mike Over a year ago

Thanks! This worked well. The issue i was having with the boolean was nesting it improperly when I attempted to use one.

Afsar · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-24 09:07:51Z

1

Remove the for loop. You don't have to loop through the array to know if answer exist in it , Just know the position of it will suffice. Try this:

var theAnswers = ["New York City", "Chicago", "Los Angelos", "Cleveland", "Ohio", "Seattle", "Boston", "Miami", "Philadelphia"];
var userAnswer = prompt("I am thinking of a Major City.. guess which one it is?", "Los Angelos");

if (theAnswers.indexOf(userAnswer)>=0) {
    alert("Good, your guess is correct. You get one point!");
}else{
    alert("Hmm... not quite the City I was looking for... Better luck next time!");
}

Fiddle

edited May 24, 2015 at 9:07

answered May 24, 2015 at 8:56

Afsar

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2 Comments

6502 Over a year ago

indexOf would return 0 for New York City. You need to use >=0 for the test. Also the original code checks for a lowercase version.

Mike Over a year ago

Thank you for this one! I wondered how I could search all the elements without looping... this is it.

Reg Edit · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-24 09:01:03Z

0

It doesn't actually execute the "else" when the condition is true.

if (userAnswer === theAnswers[i].toLowerCase())

The first time this condition is evaluated, i is 0, so theAnswers[i] is "New York City".

answered May 24, 2015 at 9:01

Reg Edit

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