Each element in an array has a numbered position, known as its index. We can access individual items using their index, which is similar to referencing an item in a list based on the item’s position.
Arrays in JavaScript are zero-indexed, meaning that the positions start counting from 0
, rather than 1
. Therefore, the first item in an array will be at position 0
. Let’s see how we could access an element in an array:
In the code snippet above:
cities
is an array that has three elements.- We’re using bracket notation,
[]
with the index after the name of the array to access the element. cities[0]
will access the element at index0
in the arraycities
. You can think ofcities[0]
as accessing the space in memory that holds the string'New York'
.
You can also access individual characters in a string using bracket notation and the index. For instance, you can write:
const hello = 'Hello World';
console.log(hello[6]);
// Output: W
The console will display W
since it is the character that is at index 6
.