Why doesn't this js array function work?

Question

I'm using the jQuery library, and attempting to push items to an array:

< onclick ="setFacet('myarray','val');">AOC

var myarray = [];
function setFacet(arr, bb) {
 for (var i=0; i< arr.length; i++)
 if (arr[i] == bb) 
 return true;
 arr.push(bb);
 return false;
}

I get this in chrome:

Object myarray has no method 'push'

• Tikhon Jelvis: Your indentation makes the code hard to read.
• Sang Suantak: Shouldn't you be pushing into myarray and not arr?
• Tikhon Jelvis: Also, what exactly doesn't work? Do you get an error message or something?
• Joseph Silber: Where exactly does jQuery come into the picture?
• Tikhon Jelvis: @JosephSilber: It's an SO question; you have to mention jQuery to be trendy ;)

Answer 1

Oh, I think I found the issue. In your onclick, you're calling the function with two strings. The first argument should be an array rather than 'myarray'.

If you just get rid of the quotes (and if myArray is in the global scope) it should work. That is, have it look like this:

onclick="setFacet(myArray, 'val')"

• Ryan: How Can I reference an array inside the onclick?
• Tikhon Jelvis: Assuming myArray is a global variable, you should be able to just do onclick="setFacet(myArray, 'val')".

Answer 2

Change:

onclick="setFacet('myarray','val')"

To:

onclick="setFacet(myarray)"

then change the function setFacet to the following:

function setFacet(arr, bb) {
 for (var i=0; i< arr.length; i++)
 if (arr[i] == bb) return true;
 arr.push(this.innerHTML); /* "this" in the context of the "click" */
 /* is the element clicked */
 return false;
}

Answer 3

the element with the onclick listener should be

<...onclick ="setFacet(myarray,'val');">

myarray should not be quoted, otherwise it will be treated as a string.

Answer 4

You could separate your javascript from your markup altogether and just store the value as an attribute of the clicked element (or any other element)

<input type="button" value="someValue">
<script>
 $(function(){
 var myArray = [];
 $('#myEle').click(function(){
 myArray.push($(this).val())
 })
 })
</script>