Javascript Reference - JavaScript Array shift() Method

JavaScript array can act as a queue. Queues restrict access in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) data structure. A queue adds items to the end of a list and retrieves items from the front of the list.

The array method for retrieving from a queue is called shift(). shift() removes the first item in the array and returns it decreases the length of the array by one.

Browser Support


`shift()`	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Syntax

array.shift()

Parameters

None

Return Value

shift() function returns the removed array item.

Example


var colors = new Array(); //create an array 
var count = colors.push("A", "B"); //push two items 
console.log(count); //2 
count = colors.push("C"); //push another item on 
console.log(count); //3 
        // ww w .j  a v  a 2  s.c  o  m
var item = colors.shift(); //get the first item 
console.log(item); //"A" 
console.log(colors.length); //2

The code above generates the following result.