Deleting array elements in JavaScript - delete vs splice

Question

What is the difference between using the delete operator on the array element as opposed to using the Array.splice method?

For example:

myArray = [\         


        

Answer 1

function remove_array_value(array, value) {
    var index = array.indexOf(value);
    if (index >= 0) {
        array.splice(index, 1);
        reindex_array(array);
    }
}
function reindex_array(array) {
   var result = [];
    for (var key in array) {
        result.push(array[key]);
    }
    return result;
}

example:

var example_arr = ['apple', 'banana', 'lemon'];   // length = 3
remove_array_value(example_arr, 'banana');

banana is deleted and array length = 2

Answer 2

As stated many times above, using splice() seems like a perfect fit. Documentation at Mozilla:

The splice() method changes the content of an array by removing existing elements and/or adding new elements.

var myFish = ['angel', 'clown', 'mandarin', 'sturgeon'];

myFish.splice(2, 0, 'drum'); 
// myFish is ["angel", "clown", "drum", "mandarin", "sturgeon"]

myFish.splice(2, 1); 
// myFish is ["angel", "clown", "mandarin", "sturgeon"]

Syntax

array.splice(start)
array.splice(start, deleteCount)
array.splice(start, deleteCount, item1, item2, ...)

Parameters

start

Index at which to start changing the array. If greater than the length of the array, actual starting index will be set to the length of the array. If negative, will begin that many elements from the end.

deleteCount

An integer indicating the number of old array elements to remove. If deleteCount is 0, no elements are removed. In this case, you should specify at least one new element. If deleteCount is greater than the number of elements left in the array starting at start, then all of the elements through the end of the array will be deleted.

If deleteCount is omitted, deleteCount will be equal to (arr.length - start).

item1, item2, ...

The elements to add to the array, beginning at the start index. If you don't specify any elements, splice() will only remove elements from the array.

Return value

An array containing the deleted elements. If only one element is removed, an array of one element is returned. If no elements are removed, an empty array is returned.

[...]

Answer 3

They're different things that have different purposes.

splice is array-specific and, when used for deleting, removes entries from the array and moves all the previous entries up to fill the gap. (It can also be used to insert entries, or both at the same time.) splice will change the length of the array (assuming it's not a no-op call: theArray.splice(x, 0)).

delete is not array-specific; it's designed for use on objects: It removes a property (key/value pair) from the object you use it on. It only applies to arrays because standard (e.g., non-typed) arrays in JavaScript aren't really arrays at all*, they're objects with special handling for certain properties, such as those whose names are "array indexes" (which are defined as string names "...whose numeric value i is in the range +0 ≤ i < 2^32-1") and length. When you use delete to remove an array entry, all it does is remove the entry; it doesn't move other entries following it up to fill the gap, and so the array becomes "sparse" (has some entries missing entirely). It has no effect on length.

A couple of the current answers to this question incorrectly state that using delete "sets the entry to undefined". That's not correct. It removes the entry (property) entirely, leaving a gap.

Let's use some code to illustrate the differences:

console.log("Using `splice`:");
var a = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"];
console.log(a.length);            // 5
a.splice(0, 1);
console.log(a.length);            // 4
console.log(a[0]);                // "b"

console.log("Using `delete`");
var a = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"];
console.log(a.length);            // 5
delete a[0];
console.log(a.length);            // still 5
console.log(a[0]);                // undefined
console.log("0" in a);            // false
console.log(a.hasOwnProperty(0)); // false

console.log("Setting to `undefined`");
var a = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"];
console.log(a.length);            // 5
a[0] = undefined;
console.log(a.length);            // still 5
console.log(a[0]);                // undefined
console.log("0" in a);            // true
console.log(a.hasOwnProperty(0)); // true

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* (that's a post on my anemic little blog)