Looping Through A Multidimensional Array In Handlebars Js

Looping Through A Multidimensional Array in Handlebars JS

When working with data structures in Handlebars.js, you may come across the need to loop through multidimensional arrays to display the information in your templates. This can be a powerful way to organize and present complex data in your web applications. In this article, we will explore how to effectively loop through a multidimensional array in Handlebars.js.

To begin, it's essential to understand the structure of a multidimensional array. A multidimensional array is an array of arrays, where each inner array represents a row of data. In the context of Handlebars.js, you may have an array of objects, with each object containing multiple key-value pairs.

Let's say we have a multidimensional array called `students`, each containing information about a student. The structure may look like this:

const students = [
    { name: 'Alice', age: 21 },
    { name: 'Bob', age: 23 },
    { name: 'Charlie', age: 22 }
];

In Handlebars.js, you can loop through this multidimensional array using the `#each` helper. The `#each` helper allows you to iterate over an array and access its elements within the template. To loop through our `students` array, you can use the following syntax:

<ul>
    {{#each students}}
        <li>Name: {{name}}, Age: {{age}}</li>
    {{/each}}
</ul>

In this example, the `#each` helper iterates over each object in the `students` array. Within the loop, we access the `name` and `age` properties of each student object using the `{{name}}` and `{{age}}` syntax.

Handling a multidimensional array within Handlebars.js templates becomes more complex when you have nested arrays. Suppose we have a multidimensional array of courses, where each course contains an array of students enrolled. The structure might look like this:

const courses = [
    {
        title: 'Mathematics',
        students: ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie']
    },
    {
        title: 'Science',
        students: ['Dave', 'Eve', 'Frank']
    }
];

To loop through this nested array structure, you can nest `#each` helpers in Handlebars.js. Here's how you can iterate over the `courses` array and then loop through each course's `students` array:

<ul>
    {{#each courses}}
        <li>{{title}}:
            <ul>
                {{#each students}}
                    <li>{{this}}</li>
                {{/each}}
            </ul>
        </li>
    {{/each}}
</ul>

In this example, we first iterate over the `courses` array using the outer `#each` helper. Within this loop, we access the `title` property of each course object. Inside the inner `#each` helper, we then iterate over the `students` array of each course and display each student's name using `{{this}}`.

Looping through multidimensional arrays in Handlebars.js allows you to efficiently organize and present data in your web applications. By mastering the `#each` helper and understanding how to handle nested arrays, you can create dynamic and engaging templates that effectively showcase your data.