How can I convert an array of numbers in javascript to string?

Question

Like I have var arr = [1,2,3,4,5], I want this to become arr["1","2","3","4","5"]. I tried using:

var x = arr[0].toString(); //outputs "1"

but when I do typeof x it outputs "number".

How can I convert this that when I do typeof it will output "string"?

Answer 1

Most elegant solution

arr = arr.map(String);

This works for Boolean and Number as well. Quoting MDN (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String)

String literals (denoted by double or single quotes) and strings returned from String calls in a non-constructor context (i.e., without using the new keyword) are primitive strings.

As for VisioNs answer, this only works for browser that support Array.prototype.map

Answer 2

One way is to use Array.prototype.map():

var arrOfStrings = arr.map(function(e) { return e + ""; });

Check the browser compatibility and use shim if needed.

• Seimen: I'd rather use the native .toString() method instead of constructing a string.
• VisioN: @Simon Why, if not a secret?
• Seimen: Simply because it's more readable imho, you see what exactly is happening with the value.
• Seimen: Hm on the other hand your code is more bullet proof because it doesn't break if for some reason an array value should be null or undefined...
• Mark Walters: @Simon indeed, combining null or undefined with a blank string will convert it to a string.

Answer 3

Probably a more elegant way of doing this but you could loop the array and convert each value to a string by adding it to a blank string +="". Check here for javascript type conversions

var arr = [1, 2, 3, 4];
for(var i=0;i<arr.length;i++) arr[i]+="";
alert(typeof arr[0]) //String

Answer 4

You can also use:

arr.join().split(',');

Answer 5

You can do it like this too: LIVE DEMO (if you want to use .toString())

var arr = [1, 2, 3, 4];
var i = 0;
arr.forEach(function(val) {
 arr[i] = val.toString();
 console.log(typeof(arr[i]));
 i++;
});