js assign array values

JS Reference

Html events, html objects, other references, javascript object.assign(), description.

The Object.assign() method copies properties from one or more source objects to a target object.

Related Methods:

Object.assign() copies properties from a source object to a target object.

Object.create() creates an object from an existing object.

Object.fromEntries() creates an object from a list of keys/values.

Return Value

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Browser Support

Object.assign() is an ECMAScript6 (ES6) feature.

ES6 (JavaScript 2015) is supported in all modern browsers since June 2017:

Object.assign() is not supported in Internet Explorer.

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Understanding Object.assign() Method in JavaScript

Cloning an object, merging objects, converting an array to an object, browser compatibility.

The Object.assign() method was introduced in ES6 that copies all enumerable own properties from one or more source objects to a target object, and returns the target object .

The Object.assign() method invokes the getters on the source objects and setters on the target object. It assigns properties only, not copying or defining new properties.

The properties in the target object are overwritten by the properties in source objects if they have the same key. Similarly, the later source objects' properties are overwritten by the earlier ones.

The Object.assign() method handles null and undefined source values gracefully, and doesn't throw any exception.

Here is how the syntax of Object.assign() looks like:

• target — The target object that is modified and returned after applying the sources' properties.
• sources — The source object(s) containing the properties you want to apply to the target object.

The Object.assign() method is one of the four ways, I explained earlier, to clone an object in JavaScript.

The following example demonstrates how you can use Object.assign() to clone an object:

Remember that Object.assign() only creates a shallow clone of the object and not a deep clone.

To create a deep clone, you can either use JSON methods or a 3rd-party library like Lodash .

The Object.assign() method can also merge multiple source objects into a target object. If you do not want to modify the target object, just pass an empty ( {} ) object as target as shown below:

If the source objects have same properties , they are overwritten by the properties of the objects later in the parameters order:

Lastly, you could also use the Object.assign() method to convert an array to an object in JavaScript. The array indexes are converted to object keys, and array values are converted to object values:

As Object.assign() is part of ES6, it only works in modern browsers. To support older browsers like IE, you can use a polyfill available on MDN.

To learn more about JavaScript objects, prototypes, and classes, take a look at this guide .

Read Next: Understanding Array.from() Method in JavaScript

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JavaScript Arrays: Create, Access, Add & Remove Elements

We have learned that a variable can hold only one value. We cannot assign multiple values to a single variable. JavaScript array is a special type of variable, which can store multiple values using a special syntax.

The following declares an array with five numeric values.

In the above array, numArr is the name of an array variable. Multiple values are assigned to it by separating them using a comma inside square brackets as [10, 20, 30, 40, 50] . Thus, the numArr variable stores five numeric values. The numArr array is created using the literal syntax and it is the preferred way of creating arrays.

Another way of creating arrays is using the Array() constructor, as shown below.

Every value is associated with a numeric index starting with 0. The following figure illustrates how an array stores values.

The following are some more examples of arrays that store different types of data.

It is not required to store the same type of values in an array. It can store values of different types as well.

Get Size of an Array

Use the length property to get the total number of elements in an array. It changes as and when you add or remove elements from the array.

Accessing Array Elements

Array elements (values) can be accessed using an index. Specify an index in square brackets with the array name to access the element at a particular index like arrayName[index] . Note that the index of an array starts from zero.

For the new browsers, you can use the arr.at(pos) method to get the element from the specified index. This is the same as arr[index] except that the at() returns an element from the last element if the specified index is negative.

You can iterate an array using Array.forEach() , for, for-of, and for-in loop, as shown below.

Update Array Elements

You can update the elements of an array at a particular index using arrayName[index] = new_value syntax.

Adding New Elements

You can add new elements using arrayName[index] = new_value syntax. Just make sure that the index is greater than the last index. If you specify an existing index then it will update the value.

In the above example, cities[9] = "Pune" adds "Pune" at 9th index and all other non-declared indexes as undefined.

The recommended way of adding elements at the end is using the push() method. It adds an element at the end of an array.

Use the unshift() method to add an element to the beginning of an array.

Remove Array Elements

The pop() method returns the last element and removes it from the array.

The shift() method returns the first element and removes it from the array.

You cannot remove middle elements from an array. You will have to create a new array from an existing array without the element you do not want, as shown below.

Learn about array methods and properties in the next chapter.

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How to assign value into array in JavaScript?

Arrays are an essential part of JavaScript as they allow us to store and manage multiple values in a single variable. Assigning values into arrays is a fundamental operation in JavaScript programming. In this article, we will explore the various ways to assign values into arrays and provide answers to some frequently asked questions related to this topic.

Table of Contents

Assigning Values into Arrays

In JavaScript, there are multiple ways to assign values into arrays. Let’s explore the most common methods:

1. Assigning values during array declaration

The simplest way to assign values into an array is during its declaration. We can create an array and assign values to it using square brackets []:

“`javascript let myArray = [‘value1’, ‘value2’, ‘value3’]; “`

2. Assigning values using index notation

Arrays in JavaScript are zero-indexed, meaning the first element is at index 0, the second at index 1, and so on. We can assign a value to a specific index using the index notation:

“`javascript let myArray = []; myArray[0] = ‘value1’; myArray[1] = ‘value2’; myArray[2] = ‘value3’; “`

3. Assigning values using the push() method

The push() method appends one or more values to the end of an array. It is a practical way to assign values into an array dynamically:

“`javascript let myArray = []; myArray.push(‘value1’); myArray.push(‘value2’); myArray.push(‘value3’); “`

1. Can an array hold different data types?

Yes, JavaScript arrays can hold values of different data types, including numbers, strings, objects, and even other arrays.

2. Can we assign multiple values to a single index in an array?

No, each index in an array can hold only one value at a time. However, that value can be an array itself, allowing the creation of multi-dimensional arrays.

3. How can we assign values to an array dynamically based on user input?

You can use methods like prompt() or take inputs from HTML forms to collect user data and assign it to array elements programmatically.

4. Is it possible to assign values to an array using a loop?

Yes, you can utilize loops like a for loop or a while loop to iterate over an array and assign values based on specific conditions or patterns.

5. What happens if we try to assign a value to an index that doesn’t exist in the array?

If the index doesn’t exist, JavaScript will automatically create that index and assign the value to it. This may result in empty or undefined values for the indexes between the last assigned index and the newly assigned one.

6. Can we assign a value to an array using negative indexes?

No, negative indexes are not valid in JavaScript arrays. Indexes must be non-negative integers.

7. How can we assign values into a multi-dimensional array?

To assign values into a multi-dimensional array, you can use nested index notations or loops to address the specific indexes in each dimension.

8. Can we assign values into an array using destructuring assignment?

Yes, with ES6, you can use the destructuring assignment syntax to assign elements of an array to individual variables.

9. Is it possible to assign values into an array using the spread operator?

Yes, the spread operator (…) can be used to assign values into an array by expanding the elements from another array.

10. Can we assign values into an array using the fill() method?

The fill() method is used to fill the elements in an array with a static value, rather than assigning individual values.

11. How can we assign values into an array using array literals?

We can assign values into an array using array literals by declaring and initializing the array with comma-separated values inside square brackets [].

12. What’s the difference between assigning values into an array and reassigning values to an existing array?

Assigning values into an array creates a new array, while reassigning values to an existing array modifies the existing array without creating a new one.

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Home » JavaScript Object Methods » JavaScript Object.assign()

JavaScript Object.assign()

Summary : in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the JavaScript Object.assign() method in ES6.

The following shows the syntax of the Object.assign() method:

The Object.assign() copies all enumerable and own properties from the source objects to the target object. It returns the target object.

The Object.assign() invokes the getters on the source objects and setters on the target. It assigns properties only, not copying or defining new properties.

Using JavaScript Object.assign() to clone an object

The following example uses the Object.assign() method to clone an object .

Note that the Object.assign() only carries a shallow clone, not a deep clone.

Using JavaScript Object.assign() to merge objects

The Object.assign() can merge source objects into a target object which has properties consisting of all the properties of the source objects. For example:

If the source objects have the same property, the property of the later object overwrites the earlier one:

• Object.assign() assigns enumerable and own properties from a source object to a target object.
• Object.assign() can be used to clone an object or merge objects .

JavaScript Arrays - How to Create an Array in JavaScript

An array is a type of data structure where you can store an ordered list of elements.

In this article, I will show you 3 ways you can create an array using JavaScript.  I will also show you how to create an array from a string using the split() method.

How to create an array in JavaScript using the assignment operator

The most common way to create an array in JavaScript would be to assign that array to a variable like this:

If we console.log the array, then it will show us all 4 elements listed in the array.

How to create an array in JavaScript using the new operator and Array constructor

Another way to create an array is to use the new keyword with the Array constructor.

Here is the basic syntax:

If a number parameter is passed into the parenthesis, that will set the length for the new array.

In this example, we are creating an array with a length of 3 empty slots.

If we use the length property on the new array, then it will return the number 3.

But if we try to access any elements of the array, it will come back undefined because all of those slots are currently empty.

We can modify our example to take in multiple parameters and create an array of food items.

How to create an array in JavaScript using Array.of()

Another way to create an array is to use the Array.of() method. This method takes in any number of arguments and creates a new array instance.

We can modify our earlier food example to use the Array.of() method like this.

This method is really similar to using the Array constructor. The key difference is that if you pass in a single number using   Array.of() it will return an array with that number in it. But the Array constructor creates x number of empty slots for that number.

In this example it would return an array with the number 4 in it.

But if I changed this example to use the Array constructor, then it would return an array of 4 empty slots.

How to create an array from a string using the split() method

Here is the syntax for the JavaScript split() method.

The optional separator is a type of pattern that tells the computer where each split should happen.

The optional limit parameter is a positive number that tells the computer how many substrings should be in the returned array value.

In this example, I have the string "I love freeCodeCamp" . If I were to use the split() method without the separator, then the return value would be an array of the entire string.

If I wanted to change it so the string is split up into individual characters, then I would need to add a separator. The separator would be an empty string.

Notice how the spaces are considered characters in the return value.

If I wanted to change it so the string is split up into individual words, then the separator would be an empty string with a space.

In this article I showed you three ways to create an array using the assignment operator, Array constructor, and Array.of() method.

If a number parameter is passed into the parenthesis, that will set the length for the new array with that number of empty slots.

For example, this code will create an array with a length of 3 empty slots.

We can also pass in multiple parameters like this:

You can also take a string and create an array using the split() method

I hope you enjoyed this article on JavaScript arrays.

I am a musician and a programmer.

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Expressions and operators

This chapter describes JavaScript's expressions and operators, including assignment, comparison, arithmetic, bitwise, logical, string, ternary and more.

At a high level, an expression is a valid unit of code that resolves to a value. There are two types of expressions: those that have side effects (such as assigning values) and those that purely evaluate .

The expression x = 7 is an example of the first type. This expression uses the = operator to assign the value seven to the variable x . The expression itself evaluates to 7 .

The expression 3 + 4 is an example of the second type. This expression uses the + operator to add 3 and 4 together and produces a value, 7 . However, if it's not eventually part of a bigger construct (for example, a variable declaration like const z = 3 + 4 ), its result will be immediately discarded — this is usually a programmer mistake because the evaluation doesn't produce any effects.

As the examples above also illustrate, all complex expressions are joined by operators , such as = and + . In this section, we will introduce the following operators:

Assignment operators

Comparison operators, arithmetic operators, bitwise operators, logical operators, bigint operators, string operators, conditional (ternary) operator, comma operator, unary operators, relational operators.

These operators join operands either formed by higher-precedence operators or one of the basic expressions . A complete and detailed list of operators and expressions is also available in the reference .

The precedence of operators determines the order they are applied when evaluating an expression. For example:

Despite * and + coming in different orders, both expressions would result in 7 because * has precedence over + , so the * -joined expression will always be evaluated first. You can override operator precedence by using parentheses (which creates a grouped expression — the basic expression). To see a complete table of operator precedence as well as various caveats, see the Operator Precedence Reference page.

JavaScript has both binary and unary operators, and one special ternary operator, the conditional operator. A binary operator requires two operands, one before the operator and one after the operator:

For example, 3 + 4 or x * y . This form is called an infix binary operator, because the operator is placed between two operands. All binary operators in JavaScript are infix.

A unary operator requires a single operand, either before or after the operator:

For example, x++ or ++x . The operator operand form is called a prefix unary operator, and the operand operator form is called a postfix unary operator. ++ and -- are the only postfix operators in JavaScript — all other operators, like ! , typeof , etc. are prefix.

An assignment operator assigns a value to its left operand based on the value of its right operand. The simple assignment operator is equal ( = ), which assigns the value of its right operand to its left operand. That is, x = f() is an assignment expression that assigns the value of f() to x .

There are also compound assignment operators that are shorthand for the operations listed in the following table:

Assigning to properties

If an expression evaluates to an object , then the left-hand side of an assignment expression may make assignments to properties of that expression. For example:

For more information about objects, read Working with Objects .

If an expression does not evaluate to an object, then assignments to properties of that expression do not assign:

In strict mode , the code above throws, because one cannot assign properties to primitives.

It is an error to assign values to unmodifiable properties or to properties of an expression without properties ( null or undefined ).

Destructuring

For more complex assignments, the destructuring assignment syntax is a JavaScript expression that makes it possible to extract data from arrays or objects using a syntax that mirrors the construction of array and object literals.

Without destructuring, it takes multiple statements to extract values from arrays and objects:

With destructuring, you can extract multiple values into distinct variables using a single statement:

Evaluation and nesting

In general, assignments are used within a variable declaration (i.e., with const , let , or var ) or as standalone statements.

However, like other expressions, assignment expressions like x = f() evaluate into a result value. Although this result value is usually not used, it can then be used by another expression.

Chaining assignments or nesting assignments in other expressions can result in surprising behavior. For this reason, some JavaScript style guides discourage chaining or nesting assignments . Nevertheless, assignment chaining and nesting may occur sometimes, so it is important to be able to understand how they work.

By chaining or nesting an assignment expression, its result can itself be assigned to another variable. It can be logged, it can be put inside an array literal or function call, and so on.

The evaluation result matches the expression to the right of the = sign in the "Meaning" column of the table above. That means that x = f() evaluates into whatever f() 's result is, x += f() evaluates into the resulting sum x + f() , x **= f() evaluates into the resulting power x ** f() , and so on.

In the case of logical assignments, x &&= f() , x ||= f() , and x ??= f() , the return value is that of the logical operation without the assignment, so x && f() , x || f() , and x ?? f() , respectively.

When chaining these expressions without parentheses or other grouping operators like array literals, the assignment expressions are grouped right to left (they are right-associative ), but they are evaluated left to right .

Note that, for all assignment operators other than = itself, the resulting values are always based on the operands' values before the operation.

For example, assume that the following functions f and g and the variables x and y have been declared:

Consider these three examples:

Evaluation example 1

y = x = f() is equivalent to y = (x = f()) , because the assignment operator = is right-associative . However, it evaluates from left to right:

• The y on this assignment's left-hand side evaluates into a reference to the variable named y .
• The x on this assignment's left-hand side evaluates into a reference to the variable named x .
• The function call f() prints "F!" to the console and then evaluates to the number 2 .
• That 2 result from f() is assigned to x .
• The assignment expression x = f() has now finished evaluating; its result is the new value of x , which is 2 .
• That 2 result in turn is also assigned to y .
• The assignment expression y = x = f() has now finished evaluating; its result is the new value of y – which happens to be 2 . x and y are assigned to 2 , and the console has printed "F!".

Evaluation example 2

y = [ f(), x = g() ] also evaluates from left to right:

• The y on this assignment's left-hand evaluates into a reference to the variable named y .
• The function call g() prints "G!" to the console and then evaluates to the number 3 .
• That 3 result from g() is assigned to x .
• The assignment expression x = g() has now finished evaluating; its result is the new value of x , which is 3 . That 3 result becomes the next element in the inner array literal (after the 2 from the f() ).
• The inner array literal [ f(), x = g() ] has now finished evaluating; its result is an array with two values: [ 2, 3 ] .
• That [ 2, 3 ] array is now assigned to y .
• The assignment expression y = [ f(), x = g() ] has now finished evaluating; its result is the new value of y – which happens to be [ 2, 3 ] . x is now assigned to 3 , y is now assigned to [ 2, 3 ] , and the console has printed "F!" then "G!".

Evaluation example 3

x[f()] = g() also evaluates from left to right. (This example assumes that x is already assigned to some object. For more information about objects, read Working with Objects .)

• The x in this property access evaluates into a reference to the variable named x .
• Then the function call f() prints "F!" to the console and then evaluates to the number 2 .
• The x[f()] property access on this assignment has now finished evaluating; its result is a variable property reference: x[2] .
• Then the function call g() prints "G!" to the console and then evaluates to the number 3 .
• That 3 is now assigned to x[2] . (This step will succeed only if x is assigned to an object .)
• The assignment expression x[f()] = g() has now finished evaluating; its result is the new value of x[2] – which happens to be 3 . x[2] is now assigned to 3 , and the console has printed "F!" then "G!".

Avoid assignment chains

Chaining assignments or nesting assignments in other expressions can result in surprising behavior. For this reason, chaining assignments in the same statement is discouraged .

In particular, putting a variable chain in a const , let , or var statement often does not work. Only the outermost/leftmost variable would get declared; other variables within the assignment chain are not declared by the const / let / var statement. For example:

This statement seemingly declares the variables x , y , and z . However, it only actually declares the variable z . y and x are either invalid references to nonexistent variables (in strict mode ) or, worse, would implicitly create global variables for x and y in sloppy mode .

A comparison operator compares its operands and returns a logical value based on whether the comparison is true. The operands can be numerical, string, logical, or object values. Strings are compared based on standard lexicographical ordering, using Unicode values. In most cases, if the two operands are not of the same type, JavaScript attempts to convert them to an appropriate type for the comparison. This behavior generally results in comparing the operands numerically. The sole exceptions to type conversion within comparisons involve the === and !== operators, which perform strict equality and inequality comparisons. These operators do not attempt to convert the operands to compatible types before checking equality. The following table describes the comparison operators in terms of this sample code:

Note: => is not a comparison operator but rather is the notation for Arrow functions .

An arithmetic operator takes numerical values (either literals or variables) as their operands and returns a single numerical value. The standard arithmetic operators are addition ( + ), subtraction ( - ), multiplication ( * ), and division ( / ). These operators work as they do in most other programming languages when used with floating point numbers (in particular, note that division by zero produces Infinity ). For example:

In addition to the standard arithmetic operations ( + , - , * , / ), JavaScript provides the arithmetic operators listed in the following table:

A bitwise operator treats their operands as a set of 32 bits (zeros and ones), rather than as decimal, hexadecimal, or octal numbers. For example, the decimal number nine has a binary representation of 1001. Bitwise operators perform their operations on such binary representations, but they return standard JavaScript numerical values.

The following table summarizes JavaScript's bitwise operators.

Bitwise logical operators

Conceptually, the bitwise logical operators work as follows:

• The operands are converted to thirty-two-bit integers and expressed by a series of bits (zeros and ones). Numbers with more than 32 bits get their most significant bits discarded. For example, the following integer with more than 32 bits will be converted to a 32-bit integer: Before: 1110 0110 1111 1010 0000 0000 0000 0110 0000 0000 0001 After: 1010 0000 0000 0000 0110 0000 0000 0001
• Each bit in the first operand is paired with the corresponding bit in the second operand: first bit to first bit, second bit to second bit, and so on.
• The operator is applied to each pair of bits, and the result is constructed bitwise.

For example, the binary representation of nine is 1001, and the binary representation of fifteen is 1111. So, when the bitwise operators are applied to these values, the results are as follows:

Note that all 32 bits are inverted using the Bitwise NOT operator, and that values with the most significant (left-most) bit set to 1 represent negative numbers (two's-complement representation). ~x evaluates to the same value that -x - 1 evaluates to.

Bitwise shift operators

The bitwise shift operators take two operands: the first is a quantity to be shifted, and the second specifies the number of bit positions by which the first operand is to be shifted. The direction of the shift operation is controlled by the operator used.

Shift operators convert their operands to thirty-two-bit integers and return a result of either type Number or BigInt : specifically, if the type of the left operand is BigInt , they return BigInt ; otherwise, they return Number .

The shift operators are listed in the following table.

Logical operators are typically used with Boolean (logical) values; when they are, they return a Boolean value. However, the && and || operators actually return the value of one of the specified operands, so if these operators are used with non-Boolean values, they may return a non-Boolean value. The logical operators are described in the following table.

Examples of expressions that can be converted to false are those that evaluate to null, 0, NaN, the empty string (""), or undefined.

The following code shows examples of the && (logical AND) operator.

The following code shows examples of the || (logical OR) operator.

The following code shows examples of the ! (logical NOT) operator.

Short-circuit evaluation

As logical expressions are evaluated left to right, they are tested for possible "short-circuit" evaluation using the following rules:

• false && anything is short-circuit evaluated to false.
• true || anything is short-circuit evaluated to true.

The rules of logic guarantee that these evaluations are always correct. Note that the anything part of the above expressions is not evaluated, so any side effects of doing so do not take effect.

Note that for the second case, in modern code you can use the Nullish coalescing operator ( ?? ) that works like || , but it only returns the second expression, when the first one is " nullish ", i.e. null or undefined . It is thus the better alternative to provide defaults, when values like '' or 0 are valid values for the first expression, too.

Most operators that can be used between numbers can be used between BigInt values as well.

One exception is unsigned right shift ( >>> ) , which is not defined for BigInt values. This is because a BigInt does not have a fixed width, so technically it does not have a "highest bit".

BigInts and numbers are not mutually replaceable — you cannot mix them in calculations.

This is because BigInt is neither a subset nor a superset of numbers. BigInts have higher precision than numbers when representing large integers, but cannot represent decimals, so implicit conversion on either side might lose precision. Use explicit conversion to signal whether you wish the operation to be a number operation or a BigInt one.

You can compare BigInts with numbers.

In addition to the comparison operators, which can be used on string values, the concatenation operator (+) concatenates two string values together, returning another string that is the union of the two operand strings.

For example,

The shorthand assignment operator += can also be used to concatenate strings.

The conditional operator is the only JavaScript operator that takes three operands. The operator can have one of two values based on a condition. The syntax is:

If condition is true, the operator has the value of val1 . Otherwise it has the value of val2 . You can use the conditional operator anywhere you would use a standard operator.

This statement assigns the value "adult" to the variable status if age is eighteen or more. Otherwise, it assigns the value "minor" to status .

The comma operator ( , ) evaluates both of its operands and returns the value of the last operand. This operator is primarily used inside a for loop, to allow multiple variables to be updated each time through the loop. It is regarded bad style to use it elsewhere, when it is not necessary. Often two separate statements can and should be used instead.

For example, if a is a 2-dimensional array with 10 elements on a side, the following code uses the comma operator to update two variables at once. The code prints the values of the diagonal elements in the array:

A unary operation is an operation with only one operand.

The delete operator deletes an object's property. The syntax is:

where object is the name of an object, property is an existing property, and propertyKey is a string or symbol referring to an existing property.

If the delete operator succeeds, it removes the property from the object. Trying to access it afterwards will yield undefined . The delete operator returns true if the operation is possible; it returns false if the operation is not possible.

Deleting array elements

Since arrays are just objects, it's technically possible to delete elements from them. This is, however, regarded as a bad practice — try to avoid it. When you delete an array property, the array length is not affected and other elements are not re-indexed. To achieve that behavior, it is much better to just overwrite the element with the value undefined . To actually manipulate the array, use the various array methods such as splice .

The typeof operator returns a string indicating the type of the unevaluated operand. operand is the string, variable, keyword, or object for which the type is to be returned. The parentheses are optional.

Suppose you define the following variables:

The typeof operator returns the following results for these variables:

For the keywords true and null , the typeof operator returns the following results:

For a number or string, the typeof operator returns the following results:

For property values, the typeof operator returns the type of value the property contains:

For methods and functions, the typeof operator returns results as follows:

For predefined objects, the typeof operator returns results as follows:

The void operator specifies an expression to be evaluated without returning a value. expression is a JavaScript expression to evaluate. The parentheses surrounding the expression are optional, but it is good style to use them to avoid precedence issues.

A relational operator compares its operands and returns a Boolean value based on whether the comparison is true.

The in operator returns true if the specified property is in the specified object. The syntax is:

where propNameOrNumber is a string, numeric, or symbol expression representing a property name or array index, and objectName is the name of an object.

The following examples show some uses of the in operator.

The instanceof operator returns true if the specified object is of the specified object type. The syntax is:

where objectName is the name of the object to compare to objectType , and objectType is an object type, such as Date or Array .

Use instanceof when you need to confirm the type of an object at runtime. For example, when catching exceptions, you can branch to different exception-handling code depending on the type of exception thrown.

For example, the following code uses instanceof to determine whether theDay is a Date object. Because theDay is a Date object, the statements in the if statement execute.

Basic expressions

All operators eventually operate on one or more basic expressions. These basic expressions include identifiers and literals , but there are a few other kinds as well. They are briefly introduced below, and their semantics are described in detail in their respective reference sections.

Use the this keyword to refer to the current object. In general, this refers to the calling object in a method. Use this either with the dot or the bracket notation:

Suppose a function called validate validates an object's value property, given the object and the high and low values:

You could call validate in each form element's onChange event handler, using this to pass it to the form element, as in the following example:

Grouping operator

The grouping operator ( ) controls the precedence of evaluation in expressions. For example, you can override multiplication and division first, then addition and subtraction to evaluate addition first.

You can use the new operator to create an instance of a user-defined object type or of one of the built-in object types. Use new as follows:

The super keyword is used to call functions on an object's parent. It is useful with classes to call the parent constructor, for example.