Question

Troubleshooting a comparison

Asked by: Leprechaun

I'm pulling some values from an array and trying to parse them a particular way.
When I use snippet #1, the debugvar variable gets populated as follows:
A:A
B:B
D:C
D:D
E:E
G:F
G:G
[etc]

I want to only diplay info when the 2 values are the same, so I tried adding an IF statement to skip dismiliar pairs (e.g., D:C & G:F; see Snippet #2), but for some reason I'm now only getting a small subset of the results of Snippet #1. I only get the following:
A:A
B:B

I don't understand how these variations could be happening. It's all being pulled from an array and the only difference between the two is that IF statement (and, besides, shouldn't a glitch cause *all* comparisons to fail?).

Thanks.

// Snippet #1
for (var x = 1; x < topA.length; x++) 
{
	var debugvar=topA[x - 1] + ':' + currentCat2 +':'+''+'';
	box1.options[menuNums-1] = new Option(debugvar, menuNums);
}
 
//Snippet #2
for (var x = 1; x < topA.length; x++) 
{
	if(topA[x - 1]==currentCat2)
	{
		var debugvar=topA[x - 1] + ':' + currentCat2 +':'+''+'';
		box1.options[menuNums-1] = new Option(debugvar, menuNums);
	}
}

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Asked On: 2009-06-10 at 12:10:39ID24480608
Tags: JavaScript
Topic: JavaScript
Participating Experts: 1
Points: 250
Comments: 23

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Answers

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-10 at 12:32:10ID: 24595322

The values may be different because of leading, or trailing spaces, or non-displayable characters.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-10 at 12:34:59ID: 24595363

You could verify this by testing using something like:

for (var x = 1; x < topA.length; x++) 
{
  var debugvar = '"' + topA[x - 1] + '":"' + currentCat2 +'":'+''+'';
  box1.options[menuNums-1] = new Option(debugvar, menuNums);
}

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by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-10 at 12:40:12ID: 24595438

Yeah, I thought of that. That's why I have a ":" after each, to check for whitespace. There isn't any. (And the two variables are being pulled from the same value in an array, so there couldn't be any.)

Also, even if there were whitespace, the whitespace would be consistent in both cases, so that doesn't explain why D:D would appear in Snippet #1 but not in Snippet #2.

Tx.

// BTW, here's a snippet of the array involved.
 
topTobacco='Tobacco Use'; 	
topAlcohol='Alcohol Consumption';
topOHealth='Oral Health'; 	
topImmuns='Immunizations'; 	
topWomHealth='Women Health'; 
topProsCanc='Prostate Cancer Screening';
topColoCanc='Colorectal Cancer Screening';
topFirearm='Firearm'; 		
topIPViol='Intimate Partner Violence';
topSexViol='Sexual Violence'; 
topFruitVeg='Fruits and Vegetables';
topSleep='Sleep'; 			
topSBelt='Seat Belt Use'; 	
	
topA = new Array(); varA = new Array(); yearA = new Array(); valA = new Array(); menuA = new Array();
 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='SEX'; varA[varA.length]='Gender of respondent'; 
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008';
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='age_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your age? (3 groups)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='ageg_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your age? (7 groups)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='race_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your race/ethnicity?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='educa_ok';  varA[varA.length]='What is the highest level of education completed?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo;  menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='income_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your annual household income?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='marital'; varA[varA.length]='What is your marital status?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008';

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by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-10 at 12:44:15ID: 24595481

It's really weird.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-10 at 12:52:21ID: 24595574

What is in topDemo?

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-10 at 13:07:13ID: 24595753

Okay, please see below.

So, the problem is that with Snippet #1 (w/o the IF statement), I get
> "Demographics":"Demographics":
> "Geography":"Geography":
> "Health Status":"Year":
> "Health Status":"Health Status":
> [etc.]

But with Snippet #2 (w/ the IF statement to eliminate dissimilar pairs), I get
> "Demographics":"Demographics":
> "Geography":"Geography":
[nothing else]

It doesn't make sense to me. I don't see how that IF statement should affect anything.

Thanks.

//THE ARRAY POPULATING CODE INVOLVED
topDemo = "Demographics"; 	
topGeo='Geography'; 		
topYear='Year'; 			
topHStat='Health Status'; 	
topHCA='Health Care Access'; 
topDiab='Diabetes'; 		
topArth='Arthritis'; 		
topCardio='Cardiovascular Disease';
topHyper='Hypertension Awareness';
topAsthma='Current Asthma'; 
topChol='Cholesterol'; 		
topWeight='Weight Control'; 
topTobacco='Tobacco Use'; 	
topAlcohol='Alcohol Consumption';
topOHealth='Oral Health'; 	
topImmuns='Immunizations'; 	
topWomHealth='Women Health'; 
topProsCanc='Prostate Cancer Screening';
topColoCanc='Colorectal Cancer Screening';
topFirearm='Firearm'; 		
topIPViol='Intimate Partner Violence';
topSexViol='Sexual Violence'; 
topFruitVeg='Fruits and Vegetables';
topSleep='Sleep'; 			
topSBelt='Seat Belt Use'; 	
	
topA = new Array(); varA = new Array(); yearA = new Array(); valA = new Array(); menuA = new Array();
 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='SEX'; varA[varA.length]='Gender of respondent'; 
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008';
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='age_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your age? (3 groups)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='ageg_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your age? (7 groups)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='race_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your race/ethnicity?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='educa_ok';  varA[varA.length]='What is the highest level of education completed?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo;  menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='income_ok'; varA[varA.length]='What is your annual household income?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992'; 
topA[topA.length]=topDemo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='marital'; varA[varA.length]='What is your marital status?';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topGeo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='CTYCODE'; varA[varA.length]='Residence (County)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topGeo; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='Region'; varA[varA.length]='Residence (Region)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topYear; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='Year'; varA[varA.length]='Year';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2007'; //TEMP 2008
topA[topA.length]=topHStat; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='GENHLTH'; varA[varA.length]='How is your general health? ( 2 groups)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topHStat; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='PHYSHLTH'; varA[varA.length]='Number of physically unhealthy days (last month)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topHStat; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='MENTHLTH'; varA[varA.length]='Number of mentally unhealthy days (last month)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topHStat; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='poorh_ok'; varA[varA.length]='Number of days poor health restrict activity (last month)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 	 	
topA[topA.length]=topHCA; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='hlthpln'; varA[varA.length]='Do you have any health care coverage? (age 18+)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topHCA; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='hlthpln_ok'; varA[varA.length]='Do you have any health care coverage? (age 18-64)';
	yearA[yearA.length]='1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'; 
topA[topA.length]=topHCA; menuA[menuA.length]=''; valA[valA.length]='persdoc_'; varA[varA.length]='Do you have a personal doctor? 18+';
	yearA[yearA.length]='2007,2008';
 
// THE WHOLE CODE SNIPPET INVOLVED
var catchanged=false; var catyearsdone=false; var currentCat2=''; var catHasChildren; 
var menuNums=1; var catAlreadyPrinted=true;
for (var x = 0; x < topA.length; x++) 
{
	if(x==0){currentCat2=topA[x]; catHasChildren=false;} //Sets things up on 1st row in array.
	
	if ((currentCat2 != topA[x]) && (x!=0))//Catches 1st instance of each cat & 
	{													//checks previous cat for children.	
		if(catHasChildren==false)
		{	/*Don't add cat since it has no children*/ }
		else
		{	/* Add last cat since it has children. */ 
 
					var debugvar = '"' + topA[x - 1] + '":"' + currentCat2 +'":'+''+'';
					
					
					//if(topA[x - 1] ==currentCat2())
					//{
						
						box1.options[menuNums-1] = new Option(debugvar, menuNums);					
						//box1.options[menuNums-1] = new Option(topA[x - 1], menuNums);
						menuNums++; //catHasChildren = false;
						catHasChildren=false;
						
					//}
		}
	}
	currentcat2=topA[x];
	var catyearsdone=false;
	for (var i = parseInt(startyearChoice, 10), n = parseInt(endyearChoice, 10); i <= n; i++) {
		if ((yearA[x].match(i)) && (!catyearsdone)) {
			//var msg=''; box2.options[menuNums]=new Option(varSubA[x]+ msg,valueSubA[x]); 
			catyearsdone = true; catHasChildren = true;
		}
	}				
}

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by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-10 at 13:12:03ID: 24595813

The array is a data source for some dynamic page elements where a subcategory list gets populated depending on the category selected by the user.

What I'm trying to do in this code is only display categories that have child subcategories that fall within a given date range.

Thanks.

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-10 at 14:24:34ID: 24596714

I tracked down the bug. It was "currentcat2" on line 92 above. Should be "currentCat2".

Haven't worked out exactly why the IF statement caused such a difference, but it's working now, so I'm back in business.

I'm going to request that this question be deleted since it turned out to be so trivial. (Duh!)

Thanks.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-10 at 16:06:17ID: 24597389

Is this closer to what you wanted?

<html>
<body>
 
<script type="text/javascript">
//THE ARRAY POPULATING CODE INVOLVED
topDemo      = 'Demographics'
topGeo       = 'Geography'
topYear      = 'Year'
topHStat     = 'Health Status'
topHCA       = 'Health Care Access'
topDiab      = 'Diabetes'
topArth      = 'Arthritis'
topCardio    = 'Cardiovascular Disease'
topHyper     = 'Hypertension Awareness'
topAsthma    = 'Current Asthma'
topChol      = 'Cholesterol'
topWeight    = 'Weight Control'
topTobacco   = 'Tobacco Use'
topAlcohol   = 'Alcohol Consumption'
topOHealth   = 'Oral Health'
topImmuns    = 'Immunizations'
topWomHealth = 'Women Health'
topProsCanc  = 'Prostate Cancer Screening'
topColoCanc  = 'Colorectal Cancer Screening'
topFirearm   = 'Firearm'
topIPViol    = 'Intimate Partner Violence'
topSexViol   = 'Sexual Violence'
topFruitVeg  = 'Fruits and Vegetables'
topSleep     = 'Sleep'
topSBelt     = 'Seat Belt Use'
 
Array.prototype.append = function( item ) {
  this[ this.length ] = item
}
 
function years( first, last ) {
  var result = []
  for ( var y = first; y <= last; y++ ) {
    result.append( y )
  }
  return result.join( ',' )
}
 
topA  = []
varA  = []
yearA = []
valA  = []
menuA = []
 
topA.append( topDemo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'SEX' )
varA.append( 'Gender of respondent' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topDemo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'age_ok' )
varA.append( 'What is your age? (3 groups)' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topDemo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'ageg_ok' )
varA.append( 'What is your age? (7 groups)' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topDemo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'race_ok' )
varA.append( 'What is your race/ethnicity?' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topDemo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'educa_ok' )
varA.append( 'What is the highest level of education completed?' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topDemo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'income_ok' )
varA.append( 'What is your annual household income?' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 1992 ) )
 
 
topA.append( topDemo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'marital' )
varA.append( 'What is your marital status?' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topGeo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'CTYCODE' )
varA.append( 'Residence (County)' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topGeo )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'Region' )
varA.append( 'Residence (Region)' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topYear )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'Year' )
varA.append( 'Year' )
yearA.append( years( 1988, 2007 ) ) //TEMP 2008
 
topA.append( topHStat )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'GENHLTH' )
varA.append( 'How is your general health? ( 2 groups)' )
yearA.append( years( 1993, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topHStat )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'PHYSHLTH' )
varA.append( 'Number of physically unhealthy days (last month)' )
yearA.append( years( 1993, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topHStat )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'MENTHLTH' )
varA.append( 'Number of mentally unhealthy days (last month)' )
yearA.append( years( 1993, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topHStat )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'poorh_ok' )
varA.append( 'Number of days poor health restrict activity (last month)' )
yearA.append( years( 1993, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topHCA )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'hlthpln' )
varA.append( 'Do you have any health care coverage? (age 18+)' )
yearA.append( years( 1991, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topHCA )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'hlthpln_ok' )
varA.append( 'Do you have any health care coverage? (age 18-64)' )
yearA.append( years( 1991, 2008 ) )
 
topA.append( topHCA )
menuA.append( '' )
valA.append( 'persdoc_' )
varA.append( 'Do you have a personal doctor? 18+' )
yearA.append( years( 2007, 2008 ) )
 
// THE WHOLE CODE SNIPPET INVOLVED
var catchanged   = false
var catyearsdone = false
var currentCat2  = ''
var catHasChildren
var menuNums     = 1
var catAlreadyPrinted = true
 
alert( topA.length )
 
for ( var x = 0; x < topA.length; x++ ) {
//alert( 'x: ' + x + ' kids: ' + catHasChildren + ' menuNums: ' + menuNums + ' Cat2: ' + currentCat2 )
  if ( x == 0 ) {
    currentCat2 = topA[ x ]
    catHasChildren = false
  } //Sets things up on 1st row in array.
 
  if ( ( currentCat2 != topA[ x ] ) && ( x != 0 ) ) {  //Catches 1st instance of each cat &
    if ( catHasChildren == false ) {                   /*Don't add cat since it has no children*/
    } else {                                           /* Add last cat since it has children. */
      var debugvar = '"' + topA[x - 1] + '":"' + currentCat2 +'":'+''+'';
 
      //if(topA[x - 1] ==currentCat2())
      //{
//      box1.options[menuNums-1] = new Option(debugvar, menuNums);
        document.write( debugvar + '<br>' )
        //box1.options[menuNums-1] = new Option(topA[x - 1], menuNums);
        menuNums++; //catHasChildren = false;
        catHasChildren=false;
      //}
    }
  }
 
  currentcat2 = topA[x];
  var catyearsdone = false;
  startyearChoice = yearA[ 0 ]
  endyearChoice   = yearA[ yearA.length - 1 ]
  for ( var i = parseInt(startyearChoice, 10), n = parseInt(endyearChoice, 10); i <= n; i++) {
    if ( ( yearA[ x ].match( i ) ) && ( !catyearsdone ) ) {
      //var msg=''; box2.options[menuNums]=new Option(varSubA[x]+ msg,valueSubA[x]);
      catyearsdone = true
      catHasChildren = true;
    }
  }
}
 
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

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by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-10 at 16:07:58ID: 24597400

Please don't delete it. Please award me some points for the time and effort

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-11 at 06:04:01ID: 24601673

Sorry, was just thinking in terms of whether its "answer" (i.e., watch for typos) was useful, but I see what you're saying.

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-11 at 06:15:02ID: 24601800

Thanks for the clean-up, HonorGod. That is a lot nicer to look at. (Need to learn about this prototype stuff.)

That code's cross-browser compatible? I know some of the handier array functions aren't.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-11 at 06:29:29ID: 24601977

Yes, that is.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-11 at 06:29:55ID: 24601984

I tried it on IE8, FireFox & Chrome

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-11 at 06:54:58ID: 24602279

BTW, what's the advantage to having the years set up with that function?

Also, will the yearA[ x ].match( i ) function still work since the yearA field is no longer a simple text field?

Tx.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-11 at 07:06:53ID: 24602450

I just found it easier to read this:

years( 1988, 2008 )

to this:

'1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008';

So, it's a personal preference.

Q: will the yearA[ x ].match( i ) function still work since the yearA field is no longer a simple text field?
A: But that's just it, it IS a simple text (string) field. The result of this:

years( 1988, 2008 )

is identical to this:

'1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008'

Watch:

<html>
<body>
 
<script type="text/javascript">
 
Array.prototype.append = function( item ) {
  this[ this.length ] = item
}
 
function years( first, last ) {
  var result = []
  for ( var y = first; y <= last; y++ ) {
    result.append( y )
  }
  return result.join( ',' )
}
 
if ( years( 1988, 2008 ) == '1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008' ) {
  alert( "They're identical." )
} else {
  alert( "They're different." )
}
 
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

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Select all Open in new window

identical.bmp
- 117 KB
identical...

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-11 at 07:28:47ID: 24602756

That's neat, but there's a small problem. Your code assumes that the numbers are part of continuous ranges, but actually some of questions skip years, which is why I'm working on this. (I need to enable or disable topics depending on the year the user has selected--we don't want a user submitting a report query that will come back empty because options are being shown that are irrelevant to the time range they've selected).

As ugly as it is, I figured this was the simplest way to handle all the possible permutations without creating parsing logic for the variant date info. This way, I can do a simple InString- style check for each year in the time period involved and don't have to parse multiple date ranges (e.g., "1988-2000, 2002, 2004-2006, 2008"). It's ugly, but so long as the years are correct in the array, it's straight forward parse.

If you have a smarter suggestion, I'm all ears, though. I don't like having all those years needlessly cluttering the place up, either.

Thanks.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-11 at 08:54:36ID: 24603812

How many years do you want to exclude? A couple? If so, this may be a good answer. It allows exclusion years to be added to the parameter list. So, to have a range of dates from

1988..2008 without 2001, you would use:

years( 1988, 2008, 2001 )

To be more complicated and specify 1988..2008, then exclude 1988, 2001, 2008, you would use:

years( 1988, 2008, 1988, 2001, 2008 )

of course, this would be better written as: years( 1989, 2007, 2001 ), but it's a reasonable test

Does that make sense?

<html>
<body>
 
<script type="text/javascript">
if ( !Array.indexOf ) {
  Array.prototype.indexOf = function( val ) {
    for ( var i = this.length - 1; ( i > -1 ) && ( this[ i ] != val ); i-- ) {
    }
    return i
  }
}
 
Array.prototype.append = function( item ) {
  this[ this.length ] = item
}
 
function years( first, last ) {
  var result = []
  for ( var y = first; y <= last; y++ ) {
    result.append( y )
  }
  for ( var i = 2; i < arguments.length; i++ ) {
    y = arguments[ i ]
    var x = result.indexOf( y )
    if ( x > -1 ) {
      if ( x > 0 ) {
        if ( x < result.length - 1 ) {
//        alert( 'Exclude: ' + y )
          result = result.slice( 0, x ).concat( result.slice( x + 1 ) )
        } else {
//        alert( 'Exclude last year: ' + y )
          result.length--
        }
      } else {
//      alert( 'Exclude first year: ' + y )
        result = result.slice( 1 )
      }
    } else {
      alert( 'Not found: ' + y )
    }
  }
  return result.join( ',' )
}
 
document.write( '1989..2007 - 2001: ' + years( 1988, 2008, 1988, 2001, 2008 ) + '<br>' )
document.write( '1988..2008 - 2000..2002: ' + years( 1988, 2008, 2000, 2001, 2002 ) + '<br>' )
 
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

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by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-11 at 08:58:19ID: 31591037

This is very nice. Thank you.

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-11 at 09:00:50ID: 24603881

One question about the new years function: Wouldn't it be easier both from a coding standpoint and a data maintenance standpoint for the base range to be separated from exceptions by something other than a ',' ?

Thanks.

by: LeprechaunPosted on 2009-06-11 at 09:03:03ID: 24603912

Any reason no to do it like this? "years( 1988-2008;1988, 2001, 2008 )" That seems less prone to data entry error, I think.

by: HonorGodPosted on 2009-06-11 at 09:26:12ID: 24604133

Well, the script could be re-written to parse a string I suppose. So, that would have to look like:

years( '1988-2008;1988, 2001, 2008' )

or perhaps

years( '1988-2008', 1988, 2001, 2008 )

The choice of a comma separator is because commas are used to separate parameters in a function.

Thanks for the grade & points.

Good luck & have a great day.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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