The delete
operator can be used to remove a property from any object. Arrays are objects, so the delete
operator can be
used here too, but if it is, a hole will be left in the array because the indexes/keys won’t be shifted to reflect the deletion.
The proper method for removing an element at a certain index would be:
-
Array.prototype.splice
- add/remove elements from the array
-
Array.prototype.pop
- add/remove elements from the end of the array
-
Array.prototype.shift
- add/remove elements from the beginning of the array
Noncompliant Code Example
var myArray = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'];
delete myArray[2]; // Noncompliant. myArray => ['a', 'b', undefined, 'd']
console.log(myArray[2]); // expected value was 'd' but output is undefined
Compliant Solution
var myArray = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'];
// removes 1 element from index 2
removed = myArray.splice(2, 1); // myArray => ['a', 'b', 'd']
console.log(myArray[2]); // outputs 'd'