array.length does not work properly?

[Frenkieb]

Hi everybody,

first post, first question.

I have the following code:

<script type="text/javascript">
var arrTest = new Array();
arrTest["item_1"] = 1;
arrTest["item_2"] = 2;
alert(arrTest.length);
</script>

Now, I would say the length of the array is '2' but the alert says '0'. Why?

[schephais]

The 'length' property is broken when using associative arrays. When you have an array with a variable length, it's generally better to use numeric indexes (arrTest[0] = "item_1", etc.)

If you need to use an associative array, you can loop through it like so:
var myLength = 0;
var arrTest = new Array();
arrTest["item_1"] = 1;
arrTest["item_2"] = 2;
for ( arrTestKey in arrTest ) {
myLength++;
}
alert ( myLength );This script loops through all the properties of the arrTest instance of the array object and adds 1 to myLength for each item.

Hope that helps.

[Frenkieb]

That was definitely helpfull!