Unexpected behavior observed with excessively large string arrays

Question

Unexpected behavior observed with excessively large string arrays

I am facing an issue with my array containing 58112 words. Whenever I try to check if a word is in the list, it always returns false, except for the first word. While I cannot share my entire code due to its length, here are the key details:

isWord("a") //true
isWord("hello") //false??

function isWord(word) {
  word = word.toLowerCase();
  for (let i = 0; i < words.length; i++) {
    if (word == words[i]) {
      return true;
    } else {
      return false;
    }
  }
}

words[] represents the list of 58112 words, with the initial word being "a". When I use isWord("a"), it correctly returns true. However, for any word other than "a", it returns false. What could be causing this behavior? Could it be related to exceeding the maximum array limit? I doubt that is the case.
The words used are sourced from this source (I had to manually add "a" and "i" since they were missing).

javascript arrays

Answer 1

Answer №1

It caught my attention that you successfully created it

return false;

By including this return statement, the code will halt execution after reaching that point, resulting in only one iteration being processed. I suggest replacing it with a print command, storing the outcome in a Boolean variable and printing it elsewhere, or even returning the Boolean variable to maintain the current structure of the code. Here is an alternative approach:

isWord("a") //true
isWord("hello") //false??

function isWord(word) {
  var boolean check = false;   //initializing as false eliminates the need for an "else" clause
  word = word.toLowerCase();
  for (let i = 0; i < words.length; i++) {
    if (word == words[i]) {
      check = true;
    }
  }
  return check;
}

Answer 2

It caught my attention that you successfully created it

return false;

By including this return statement, the code will halt execution after reaching that point, resulting in only one iteration being processed. I suggest replacing it with a print command, storing the outcome in a Boolean variable and printing it elsewhere, or even returning the Boolean variable to maintain the current structure of the code. Here is an alternative approach:

isWord("a") //true
isWord("hello") //false??

function isWord(word) {
  var boolean check = false;   //initializing as false eliminates the need for an "else" clause
  word = word.toLowerCase();
  for (let i = 0; i < words.length; i++) {
    if (word == words[i]) {
      check = true;
    }
  }
  return check;
}

Answer 3

Answer №2

Discover a quicker and more efficient method to accomplish the desired outcome.

function checkIfWordExists(wordToCheck) {
    wordToCheck = wordToCheck.toLowerCase()
    var j = wordToCheck.length;
    while (j--) {
       if (wordList[j] === wordToCheck) {
           return true;
       }
    }
    return false;
}

Answer 4

Discover a quicker and more efficient method to accomplish the desired outcome.

function checkIfWordExists(wordToCheck) {
    wordToCheck = wordToCheck.toLowerCase()
    var j = wordToCheck.length;
    while (j--) {
       if (wordList[j] === wordToCheck) {
           return true;
       }
    }
    return false;
}

Answer 5

Answer №3

Following the updates in ES7 (ES2016), two new methods have been introduced:

const words = ['hi', 'bye', 'morning', 'evening'];
const toSearch = 'Morning';

if (words.includes(toSearch.toLowerCase())) {
  // ...
}
// or
if (words.some(x => x === toSearch.toLowerCase())) {
  // ...
}

While arrays can be compared using ===, it is recommended to use the includes method. Remember, if === does not meet your needs, you can customize it with the some method.

An example of when some method is useful and includes method does not work:

const objects = [{ id: 1, name: 'Foo' }, { id: 2, name: 'bar' }, { id: 3, name: 'Baz' }];
const idToSearch = 2;

if (objects.some(x => x.id === idToSearch)) {
  // ...
}

Additionally, the find and findIndex methods were already available, introduced in ES6 (ES2015)

Answer 6

Following the updates in ES7 (ES2016), two new methods have been introduced:

const words = ['hi', 'bye', 'morning', 'evening'];
const toSearch = 'Morning';

if (words.includes(toSearch.toLowerCase())) {
  // ...
}
// or
if (words.some(x => x === toSearch.toLowerCase())) {
  // ...
}

While arrays can be compared using ===, it is recommended to use the includes method. Remember, if === does not meet your needs, you can customize it with the some method.

An example of when some method is useful and includes method does not work:

const objects = [{ id: 1, name: 'Foo' }, { id: 2, name: 'bar' }, { id: 3, name: 'Baz' }];
const idToSearch = 2;

if (objects.some(x => x.id === idToSearch)) {
  // ...
}

Additionally, the find and findIndex methods were already available, introduced in ES6 (ES2015)

Answer 7

Answer №4

It's possible that my understanding is flawed, but I believe the reason behind this behavior lies in the process of checking whether a word exists within an array of words.

During the first iteration of the array, if the word you input matches the value a at index words[0], it will return true. If not, it will return false and exit the function.

In essence, the function only verifies if the entered element is equal to the string a.

Answer 8

It's possible that my understanding is flawed, but I believe the reason behind this behavior lies in the process of checking whether a word exists within an array of words.

During the first iteration of the array, if the word you input matches the value a at index words[0], it will return true. If not, it will return false and exit the function.

In essence, the function only verifies if the entered element is equal to the string a.

Unexpected behavior observed with excessively large string arrays

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

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