Which is evaluated first? To answer this, we turn to Operator Precedence. It has one argument: array.slice(-1), which we'll examine next.Īrray.slice(-1) is another function call.

Before it can execute (and print something to the screen), its arguments must be evaluated first. This is your original statement: alert(array.slice(-1)) Īlert(.) is a function call. By understanding each small piece, you will understand the whole. If you don't want to change the array, the slice() method can be used.Break the expression down into its parts. You can use it if you are fine with modifying the array. Let us now use all three methods on an array to get the last element and check which method is the fastest let arry = Ĭonsole.timeEnd('array length property') Īs you can see, the pop() method is fastest. This method changes the length of the array. The pop() method pops/removes the last element of an array, and returns it. Providing one index value returns the element at that position & a negative index value calculates the index from the end of the array. The slice() method does not modify the existing array. This method selects the elements starting at the given start index and ends at the given end index excluding the element at the end index. The slice() method returns specific elements from an array, as a new array object.

Therefore the last element's index would be array length-1. The reason we are subtracting 1 from the length is, in JavaScript, the array index numbering starts with 0. Subtracting 1 from the length of an array gives the index of the last element of an array using which the last element can be accessed.

The length property returns the number of elements in an array.

Slice in javascript array