nico.fyi
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    You should start using with and at methods in Javascript

    Authors

    JavaScript has come a long way, introducing many new APIs that enable us to write less code. For example, I recently discovered two array methods named with and at. Suppose you want to create a new array from an existing one, where a certain element in the new array is replaced with a new value. Previously, you might have done something like this:

    const arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
    const newArr = [...arr] // Copy the array
    newArr[1] = 10 // Change the value of index 1
    console.log(newArr) // [1, 10, 3, 4, 5]
    

    However, with the with method, we can simply write:

    const newArr = arr.with(1, 10)
    

    The with method also accepts a negative index, so you can easily change the last element in the array, like so:

    const newArr = arr.with(-1, 10) // [1, 2, 3, 4, 10]
    

    And since with returns a new array, we can chain it with other array methods:

    const newArr3 = arr.with(-1, 10).map((i) => i * 2) // [2, 4, 6, 8, 20]
    

    Next, there's the at function to read an element from an array, which is equivalent to the bracket notation when the index is non-negative. Indeed, the convenience of the at function becomes apparent when we use it with a negative index. Say we want to get the penultimate item (second to the last) of an array. There are several ways to do this:

    // Our array with items
    const colors = ['red', 'green', 'blue']
    
    // Using the length property
    const lengthWay = colors[colors.length - 2]
    console.log(lengthWay) // 'green'
    
    // Using the slice() method. Note an array is returned
    const sliceWay = colors.slice(-2, -1)
    console.log(sliceWay[0]) // 'green'
    
    // Using the at() method
    const atWay = colors.at(-2)
    console.log(atWay) // 'green'
    

    As you can see, the at method is the most convenient way to get the value.


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