Array.prototype.push()
The push()
method adds one or more elements to the end of
an array and returns the new length of the array.
Syntax
push(element0)
push(element0, element1)
push(element0, element1, /* ... ,*/ elementN)
Parameters
elementN
-
The element(s) to add to the end of the array.
Return value
The new length
property of the object upon which the
method was called.
Description
The push
method appends values to an array.
push
is intentionally generic. This method can be used with
call()
or apply()
on
objects resembling arrays. The push
method relies on a length
property to determine where to start inserting the given values. If the
length
property cannot be converted into a number, the index used is 0.
This includes the possibility of length
being nonexistent, in which case
length
will also be created.
Although strings are native, Array-like objects, they are not suitable in applications of this method, as strings are immutable. Similarly for the native, Array-like object arguments.
Examples
Adding elements to an array
The following code creates the sports
array containing two elements, then
appends two elements to it. The total
variable contains the new length of
the array.
let sports = ['soccer', 'baseball']
let total = sports.push('football', 'swimming')
console.log(sports) // ['soccer', 'baseball', 'football', 'swimming']
console.log(total) // 4
Merging two arrays
This example uses spread syntax to push all elements from a second array into the first one.
let vegetables = ['parsnip', 'potato']
let moreVegs = ['celery', 'beetroot']
// Merge the second array into the first one
vegetables.push(...moreVegs);
console.log(vegetables) // ['parsnip', 'potato', 'celery', 'beetroot']
Merging two arrays can also be done with the concat()
method.
Using an object in an array-like fashion
As mentioned above, push
is intentionally generic, and we can use that to
our advantage. Array.prototype.push
can work on an object just fine, as
this example shows.
Note that we don't create an array to store a collection of objects. Instead, we store
the collection on the object itself and use call
on
Array.prototype.push
to trick the method into thinking we are dealing with
an array—and it just works, thanks to the way JavaScript allows us to establish the
execution context in any way we want.
let obj = {
length: 0,
addElem: function addElem(elem) {
// obj.length is automatically incremented
// every time an element is added.
[].push.call(this, elem)
}
}
// Let's add some empty objects just to illustrate.
obj.addElem({})
obj.addElem({})
console.log(obj.length)
// → 2
Note that although obj
is not an array, the method push
successfully incremented obj
's length
property just like if we
were dealing with an actual array.
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript Language Specification # sec-array.prototype.push |
Browser compatibility
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