Creating a function that can search for an element in an array of objects?

Question

I have this array of objects:

var person = [
{firstName: "Josh", lastName: "Doe", age: 50, eyeColor: "blue"},
{firstName: "Jake", lastName: "Denver", age: 34, eyeColor: "blue"},
{firstName: "Sam", lastName: "Kiszka", age: 20, eyeColor: "brown"}
];

And I have to create a function where you write down a name, and the function can tell you if it's a part of the array of objects or not. Can somebody help me?

So you want to search in both the `firstName` and the `lastName` fields? — Alexander Presber, Jan 05 '20 at 18:20
A lot of problems get easier to solve when stated more clearly. Does "Josh" match someone, does "Doe", does "Josh Doe"? How about "Jos" or "josh"? — danh, Jan 05 '20 at 18:20
Either or. So I could either search a last name, a first name or both and it would turn up true — Karla Jensen, Jan 05 '20 at 18:25

Alexander Presber · Answer 1 · 2020-01-05T21:32:15.890

This function will return the objects for which either firstName or lastName match the passed argument (search string) input:

function filterPersons(input) {
  const results = person.filter(function(p){
    if (input.length == 0) return false;
    return (p.firstName+' '+p.lastName).match(new RegExp(input, 'i'));
  });
  return results;
};

An empty array means: No persons first or last name matches the input string.

The function is used in this filtering solution that you can run:

// your input array
const person = [
  {firstName: "Josh", lastName: "Doe", age: 50, eyeColor: "blue"},
  {firstName: "Jake", lastName: "Denver", age: 34, eyeColor: "blue"},
  {firstName: "Sam", lastName: "Kiszka", age: 20, eyeColor: "brown"}
];

// the function you are looking for
const filterPersons = function(input) {
  const results = person.filter(function(p){
    if (input.length == 0) return false;
    return (p.firstName+' '+p.lastName).match(new RegExp(input, 'i'));
  });
  return results;
};

// this shows the filtering in action
window.onload = function(){
  const input  = document.getElementById('val');
  const output = document.getElementById('out');
  
  input.addEventListener("keyup", function (ev) {
    const val = ev.target.value;
    
    // here we are calling the filter function
    const results = filterPersons(val);

    if (results.length > 0) {
      output.innerHTML = 'Yes! ' + JSON.stringify(results);
    } else {
      output.innerHTML ='No!';
    }
  });
}

<input id="val" />
<h3>included?</h3>
<div id="out">
</div>

@KarlaJensen feel free to mark this answer as correct if it solves your problem. — Alexander Presber, Jan 05 '20 at 21:32

T. Short · Answer 2 · 2020-01-05T18:18:43.253

0

One approach:

function isPartOfArrayOfObjects(person, name) {
    let found = false;

    person.forEach(entry => {
        Object.keys(entry).forEach(key => {
            if (entry[key] === name) {
                found = true;
            }
        });
    });

    return found;
}

And if you only want it to check the firstName and lastName values:

function isPartOfArray(person, name) {
    return person.some(entry => entry.firstName === name || entry.lastName === name);
}

edited Jan 05 '20 at 18:18

answered Jan 05 '20 at 18:15

T. Short

3,481
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30

what does key mean? – Karla Jensen Jan 05 '20 at 18:18
key refers to `firstName` or `lastName` etc... You can name it whatever you like. I also added an alternative you might prefer @KarlaJensen – T. Short Jan 05 '20 at 18:20
Thank you! What does entry stand for? – Karla Jensen Jan 05 '20 at 18:26
Entry is each "array entry". So one entry would be `{firstName: "Josh", lastName: "Doe", age: 50, eyeColor: "blue"}`. Again, you can name it whatever you like – T. Short Jan 05 '20 at 18:33

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 06 '20 at 02:50

function returnWetherNameMatch(personArr,name){
    let matched =  personArr.filter(person => {
    return person.firstName.toLowerCase() === name.toLowerCase() || person.lastName.toLowerCase() === name.toLowerCase()
  });
  if(matched.length>0) {
  return true;
  } else
    return false;
}

var person = [
{firstName: "Josh", lastName: "Doe", age: 50, eyeColor: "blue"},
{firstName: "Jake", lastName: "Denver", age: 34, eyeColor: "blue"},
{firstName: "Sam", lastName: "Kiszka", age: 20, eyeColor: "brown"}
];

var isNamePresent = returnWetherNameMatch(person,"Josh")

console.log(isNamePresent);

Creating a function that can search for an element in an array of objects?

3 Answers3