JS nested array: How to display first array in console?

Question

I have this nested arrays.

var contacts = [
    {
        "firstName": "Akira",
        "lastName": "Laine",
        "number": "0543236543",
        "likes": ["Pizza", "Coding", "Brownie Points"]
    },
    {
        "firstName": "Harry",
        "lastName": "Potter",
        "number": "0994372684",
        "likes": ["Hogwarts", "Magic", "Hagrid"]
    },
    {
        "firstName": "Sherlock",
        "lastName": "Holmes",
        "number": "0487345643",
        "likes": ["Intriguing Cases", "Violin"]
    },
    {
        "firstName": "Kristian",
        "lastName": "Vos",
        "number": "unknown",
        "likes": ["JavaScript", "Gaming", "Foxes"]
    }
];

I know how to access a property within an array like this:

contacts[0][firstName]

to get "Akira". But I wanted to display the first array within the nested arrays. How do I do this? If I just type in console.log(contacts[0]); I get [object Object].

I heard about JSON.parse(). Is it the correct way to display the first array within the nested arrays or any other array too?

There is no JSON there, so no need for `JSON.parse`. *Different browsers will show different output for [`console.log`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Console/log)* (the link shows how to 'log objects' as well), so *consider [`console.dir`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Console/dir) for diagnostic display of objects* instead. — user2864740, Jul 01 '19 at 20:45
Possible duplicate of [How to print object array in JavaScript?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14895287/how-to-print-object-array-in-javascript) — Bosco, Jul 01 '19 at 20:53

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 01 '19 at 20:46

I think you need a JSON.stringify() instead of JSON.parse().

var contacts = [{
    "firstName": "Akira",
    "lastName": "Laine",
    "number": "0543236543",
    "likes": ["Pizza", "Coding", "Brownie Points"]
  },
  {
    "firstName": "Harry",
    "lastName": "Potter",
    "number": "0994372684",
    "likes": ["Hogwarts", "Magic", "Hagrid"]
  },
  {
    "firstName": "Sherlock",
    "lastName": "Holmes",
    "number": "0487345643",
    "likes": ["Intriguing Cases", "Violin"]
  },
  {
    "firstName": "Kristian",
    "lastName": "Vos",
    "number": "unknown",
    "likes": ["JavaScript", "Gaming", "Foxes"]
  }
];

console.log(JSON.stringify(contacts[0], null, '  '));

Marcelo Cardoso · Answer 2 · 2019-07-01T20:54:52.053

1

If, on your data structure, likes is always an array, you can access it this way: contacts[0].likes

console logging it: console.log(contacts[0].likes).

You can also access every array by looping through the object:

contacts.forEach(contact => {
  console.log(contact.likes)
})

edited Jul 01 '19 at 20:54

answered Jul 01 '19 at 20:49

Marcelo Cardoso

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JS nested array: How to display first array in console?

2 Answers2