What is the most efficient way to create a zero filled array in JavaScript ?

Creating zero-filled arrays is a common task in JavaScript, essential for initializing data structures, matrices, and more. This guide explores the most efficient methods to create zero-filled arrays, enhancing performance and code readability.

Syntax:

arr(length).fill(value);

Importance of Zero-Filled Arrays:

Zero-filled arrays are crucial for:

  • Initializing data structures in algorithms.
  • Preparing matrices for mathematical operations.
  • Setting default values for datasets and configurations.

Approach

  • The Array() constructor creates an array with the specified length, and the fill() method fills all the elements of the array with a static value, which in this case is zero.
  • The code creates an array of length 10 filled with zero using the Array() constructor with the fill() method and stores the resulting array in the filledArray variable.
  • Finally, the console.log() method is used to print the array to the console.

This approach is an efficient way to create a zero-filled array because it requires only one line of code and doesn’t require any loops or conditional statements. The fill() method is highly optimized for performance and can fill large arrays quickly.

Example1: Creating a zero-filled array of length 10

Javascript
// Creating an array filled with
// zero's in efficient way
let filledArray = Array(10).fill(0);

// Printing output array
console.log(`Array filled with zero's
 values is [${filledArray}]`);

Output
Array filled with zero's
 values is [0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]

Example 2: Creating a zero-filled array of size 3×3 (2D array), here we will also use map and arrow function as well.

Javascript
// Creating 2d array filled with zero values 
const arr2D = new Array(3)
    .fill().map(() => new Array(3).fill(0));
// Printing output
console.log(`2D array filled with zero's is`);
console.log(arr2D)

Output
2D array filled with zero's is
[ [ 0, 0, 0 ], [ 0, 0, 0 ], [ 0, 0, 0 ] ]

Understanding how to create zero-filled arrays efficiently is essential for JavaScript developers. This guide introduces the importance and prerequisites, setting the stage for exploring various methods. By focusing on practical applications, you can improve your code performance and efficiency.