How to Retrieve the First N Items in a JavaScript Array
When working with JavaScript arrays, there might be instances where you only need to retrieve a specific number of items from the beginning of the array. In such cases, you can make use of the slice() method, which is a built-in function available for every instance of an array.
To get the first n items from a JavaScript array, follow these steps:
- Define your array:
1 | const arrayToCut = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; |
- Set the value of
nto the desired number of items you want to retrieve from the array:
1 | const n = 5; // Retrieve the first 5 items |
- Use the
slice()method on the array, passing in the starting and ending indices:
1 | const newArray = arrayToCut.slice(0, n); |
By specifying the indices 0 and n, the slice() method will extract the first n items from the array and return them as a new array called newArray. It’s important to note that the original array, arrayToCut, remains unmodified by this operation.
In summary, to retrieve the first n items from a JavaScript array, utilize the slice() method by providing the starting index of 0 and the desired number of items as the ending index.