Search inside an array of objects under an object property for a string assistance in JavaScript

Question

I am using a JavaScript library that has some code that expects a simple flat array of items like this...

var items = [
    'item 1',
    'item 2',
    'item 3',
];

This is too limited for my project needs so I am editing the library to accept an array of object instead like this...

var items = [
    {
        id: 1,
        name: 'Item 1',
        image: 'img 1',
    },
    {
        id: 2,
        name: 'Item 2',
        image: 'img 2',
    },
    {
        id: 3,
        name: 'Item 3',
        image: 'img 3',
    },
];

The library calls some code like this...

if (_helpers.inArray(val, this.options.items) || (val === '')) {
    return val;
}

It check to see if a string is in the items array.

Because my items array is no longer a simple string value and is instead an object now. This breaks this part of the library code.

The code for the function it calls is this...

var _helpers = {

    inArray: function(val, arr) {
        return ($.inArray(val, arr) !== -1);
    },

};

So I need some help in making my own _helpers.inArray(val, this.options.items) function which will check for a string value in an array of objects under the object property name

Any help appreciated

Try to use this:Javascript search inside a JSON object, it should help you — Ziki
– Ziki, Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 21:42
@AdamJeffers I think var items is actually the contents of this.options.items. — Barmar
– Barmar, Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 21:48

Stefano Castriotta · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-28 21:52:43Z

2

Could be something like this?

var _helpers = {
    inArray: function(val, arr) {
        for (var i = 0; i < arr.length; i++){
            if (arr[i].name === val)
                return true;
        }
        return false;
    },
};

https://jsfiddle.net/z54qnukd/1/

answered Oct 28, 2015 at 21:52

Stefano Castriotta

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Comments

pherris · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-28 22:11:04Z

1

Try mapping your array of objects back to the simple format:

var _helpers = {

    inArray: function(val, arr) {
        var mappedArr = $.map( items, function(item, index) {
            return item.name;
        });
        return ($.inArray(val, mappedArr) !== -1);
    },

};

https://jsbin.com/tihuyuquni/edit?html,output

edited Oct 28, 2015 at 22:11

answered Oct 28, 2015 at 22:04

pherris

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6 Comments

zerkms Over a year ago

jquery is really overkill for it. Array.prototype.map is there for years (and polifyll is available). PS: you could at least use consistent reference to a jquery object - either jQuery or $ in both cases.

pherris Over a year ago

@zerkms good catch on the jQuery vs $ - if the OP is already using the library, using it here doesn't seem out of step.

zerkms Over a year ago

In the world where ES2015 is an established standard it's a step back for sure. Compare your code with items.map(i => i.name).includes(val)

zerkms Over a year ago

It is awesome :-) The future is here for half a year already

pherris Over a year ago

Hm, looks like MDN has includes listed as 'experimental' and as part of ES2016: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/… but your point is valid and I need to adjust my thinking a bit.

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