Array.prototype.slice()

The slice() method returns a shallow copy of a portion of an array into a new array object selected from begin to end (end not included). The original array will not be modified.

var a = ['zero', 'one', 'two', 'three'];
var sliced = a.slice(1, 3);
console.log(a);      // ['zero', 'one', 'two', 'three']
console.log(sliced); // ['one', 'two']

Syntax

arr.slice()
arr.slice(begin)
arr.slice(begin, end)

Parameters

begin Optional

Zero-based index at which to begin extraction.

A negative index can be used, indicating an offset from the end of the sequence. slice(-2) extracts the last two elements in the sequence.

If begin is undefined, slice begins from index 0.

end Optional

Zero-based index before which to end extraction. slice extracts up to but not including end.

For example, slice(1,4) extracts the second element through the fourth element (elements indexed 1, 2, and 3).

A negative index can be used, indicating an offset from the end of the sequence. slice(2,-1) extracts the third element through the second-to-last element in the sequence.

If end is omitted, slice extracts through the end of the sequence (arr.length).

If end is greater than the length of the sequence, slice extracts through the end of the sequence (arr.length).

Return value

A new array containing the extracted elements.

Description

slice does not alter the original array. It returns a shallow copy of elements from the original array. Elements of the original array are copied into the returned array as follows:

• For object references (and not the actual object), slice copies object references into the new array. Both the original and new array refer to the same object. If a referenced object changes, the changes are visible to both the new and original arrays.
• For strings, numbers and booleans (not String, Number and Boolean objects), slice copies the values into the new array. Changes to the string, number or boolean in one array do not affect the other array.

If a new element is added to either array, the other array is not affected.

Examples

Return a portion of an existing array

var fruits = ['Banana', 'Orange', 'Lemon', 'Apple', 'Mango'];
var citrus = fruits.slice(1, 3);
// fruits contains ['Banana', 'Orange', 'Lemon', 'Apple', 'Mango']
// citrus contains ['Orange','Lemon']

Using slice

In the following example, slice creates a new array, newCar, from myCar. Both include a reference to the object myHonda. When the color of myHonda is changed to purple, both arrays reflect the change.

// Using slice, create newCar from myCar.
var myHonda = { color: 'red', wheels: 4, engine: { cylinders: 4, size: 2.2 } };
var myCar = [myHonda, 2, 'cherry condition', 'purchased 1997'];
var newCar = myCar.slice(0, 2);
// Display the values of myCar, newCar, and the color of myHonda
//  referenced from both arrays.
console.log('myCar = ' + JSON.stringify(myCar));
console.log('newCar = ' + JSON.stringify(newCar));
console.log('myCar[0].color = ' + myCar[0].color);
console.log('newCar[0].color = ' + newCar[0].color);
// Change the color of myHonda.
myHonda.color = 'purple';
console.log('The new color of my Honda is ' + myHonda.color);
// Display the color of myHonda referenced from both arrays.
console.log('myCar[0].color = ' + myCar[0].color);
console.log('newCar[0].color = ' + newCar[0].color);

This script writes:

myCar = [{color: 'red', wheels: 4, engine: {cylinders: 4, size: 2.2}}, 2,
         'cherry condition', 'purchased 1997']
newCar = [{color: 'red', wheels: 4, engine: {cylinders: 4, size: 2.2}}, 2]
myCar[0].color = red 
newCar[0].color = red
The new color of my Honda is purple
myCar[0].color = purple
newCar[0].color = purple

Array-like objects

slice method can also be called to convert Array-like objects / collections to a new Array. You just bind the method to the object. The arguments inside a function is an example of an 'array-like object'.

function list() {
  return Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
}
var list1 = list(1, 2, 3); // [1, 2, 3]

Binding can be done with the .call function of Function.prototype and it can also be reduced using [].slice.call(arguments) instead of Array.prototype.slice.call. Anyway, it can be simplified using bind.

var unboundSlice = Array.prototype.slice;
var slice = Function.prototype.call.bind(unboundSlice);
function list() {
  return slice(arguments);
}
var list1 = list(1, 2, 3); // [1, 2, 3]

Streamlining cross-browser behavior

Although host objects (such as DOM objects) are not required by spec to follow the Mozilla behavior when converted by Array.prototype.slice and IE < 9 does not do so, versions of IE starting with version 9 do allow this. “Shimming” it can allow reliable cross-browser behavior. As long as other modern browsers continue to support this ability, as currently do IE, Mozilla, Chrome, Safari, and Opera, developers reading (DOM-supporting) slice code relying on this shim will not be misled by the semantics; they can safely rely on the semantics to provide the now apparently de facto standard behavior. (The shim also fixes IE to work with the second argument of slice() being an explicit null/undefined value as earlier versions of IE also did not allow but all modern browsers, including IE >= 9, now do.)

/**
 * Shim for "fixing" IE's lack of support (IE < 9) for applying slice
 * on host objects like NamedNodeMap, NodeList, and HTMLCollection
 * (technically, since host objects have been implementation-dependent,
 * at least before ES2015, IE hasn't needed to work this way).
 * Also works on strings, fixes IE < 9 to allow an explicit undefined
 * for the 2nd argument (as in Firefox), and prevents errors when
 * called on other DOM objects.
 */
(function () {
  'use strict';
  var _slice = Array.prototype.slice;
  try {
    // Can't be used with DOM elements in IE < 9
    _slice.call(document.documentElement);
  } catch (e) { // Fails in IE < 9
    // This will work for genuine arrays, array-like objects, 
    // NamedNodeMap (attributes, entities, notations),
    // NodeList (e.g., getElementsByTagName), HTMLCollection (e.g., childNodes),
    // and will not fail on other DOM objects (as do DOM elements in IE < 9)
    Array.prototype.slice = function(begin, end) {
      // IE < 9 gets unhappy with an undefined end argument
      end = (typeof end !== 'undefined') ? end : this.length;
      // For native Array objects, we use the native slice function
      if (Object.prototype.toString.call(this) === '[object Array]'){
        return _slice.call(this, begin, end); 
      }
      // For array like object we handle it ourselves.
      var i, cloned = [],
        size, len = this.length;
      // Handle negative value for "begin"
      var start = begin || 0;
      start = (start >= 0) ? start : Math.max(0, len + start);
      // Handle negative value for "end"
      var upTo = (typeof end == 'number') ? Math.min(end, len) : len;
      if (end < 0) {
        upTo = len + end;
      }
      // Actual expected size of the slice
      size = upTo - start;
      if (size > 0) {
        cloned = new Array(size);
        if (this.charAt) {
          for (i = 0; i < size; i++) {
            cloned[i] = this.charAt(start + i);
          }
        } else {
          for (i = 0; i < size; i++) {
            cloned[i] = this[start + i];
          }
        }
      }
      return cloned;
    };
  }
}());

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Array.prototype.splice()
• Function.prototype.call()
• Function.prototype.bind()