Javascript Array Every Method
Tags: javascript, webdev, beginners, tutorial
Published: 2022-11-13 18:29:46

Sometimes with arrays, we want to test every element for a certain condition. While individual conditions can be tested easily with an `if` statement, it becomes a little trickier with multiple array elements. As such, Javascript provides a method on arrays called `every` which will test every element for a specific test. If all pass the test, the overall `every` method will pass `true`. If one or more fail the test, then the overall `every` method will return `false`.

## Checking every element of an array for a test

Suppose we have an array where we want to test if every number is above 15. This is a perfect place to use `every`. Let's take a look.

```javascript
let arr = [ 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 ];
let check = arr.every((el, index, array) => {
    return el > 15
});

console.log(check); // true
```

`every` takes a function like in the form `(el, index, array) => ...`. 
- `el` is the current element being iterated through by `every`.
- `index` is the index of the current element being iterated through by the array.
- `array` is the full array being iterated upon. Here it would be `[ 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 ]`.

Since arrow functions will return true if on one line without a `return` statement, the above code can be simplified to this, too:
```javascript

let arr = [ 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 ];
let check = arr.every((el, index, array) => el > 15);

console.log(check); // true
```

As well, the `every` method can take another form where it accepts a callback function's name, along with a custom value for `this`. That means you can create a function, and then prep its content based on a custom `this` within the function itself. For example, below I pass `{value: 15}` into `this`, allowing us to change this value should we want to for other times when we call `every`:

```javascript
let callbackFn = function(el) {
    if(this.value !== undefined) {
        return el > this.value
    }
    return false;
}

let arr = [ 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 ];
let check = arr.every(callbackFn, { value: 15 }); // Returns true
```

## Modifying an array with the every method
Much like other array methods, Javascript does allow modification of the array within a method called upon it. For example, we could modify each element of our array and then do a check upon it. Since `every` is essentially a type of loop, each element is looped over sequentially:
```javascript
let arr = [ 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 ];
let check = arr.every((el, index, array) => {
    arr[index] -= 100;
    return el > 5
});

// This is true, since we subtracted 100 from each element before the check
console.log(check); // true
```

We can even delete elements from an array in the `every` loop:
```javascript
let arr = [ 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 ];
let check = arr.every((el, index, array) => {
    arr.pop();
    return el > 15;
});

console.log(arr); // returns [ 25, 35 ]
```

Javascript even lets you add elements to an array in `every`. Since `every` fires only once for each element in an array, it cannot lead to an infinite loop by simply pushing elements to the original array:
```javascript
let arr = [ 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 ];
let check = arr.every((el, index, array) => {
    arr.push(100);
    return el > 15;
});

// This is true, since we subtracted 100 from each element before the check
console.log(arr); // returns [25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100]
console.log(check); // returns true
```

## Conclusion

The `every` method is a built in way to do logical tests on entire arrays. You should be careful with this on large arrays as it may lead to performance problems. In most cases, though, it's a really useful tool to add to your array arsenal. There are many other use cases where `every` is very useful. For example, you can also use `every` for other use cases, like [checking if an array is a subset of another array](https://fjolt.com/article/javascript-check-if-array-is-subset).