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JavaScript JavaScript Loops, Arrays and Objects Tracking Data Using Objects The Student Record Search Challenge Solution

Allen Terzian
Allen Terzian
3,311 Points
Posted by Allen Terzian
Allen Terzian
3,311 Points

My solution for the 'Student Not Found' and 'Multiple Students' Search

Posting this to help people as it drove me almost insane to figure it out. Snapshot here: https://w.trhou.se/d5zpdmd2ho

or see code below:

var message = '';
var student;

function print(message) {
  var outputDiv = document.getElementById('output');
  outputDiv.innerHTML = message;
}

function getStudentReport(student) {
  var report = '';
  for (var x = 0; x < student.length; x += 1) {
    report += '<h2>Student: ' + student[x].name + '</h2>';
    report += '<p>Track: ' + student[x].track + '</p>';
    report += '<p>Points: ' + student[x].points + '</p>';
    report += '<p>Achievements: ' + student[x].achievements + '</p>';
  }
  return report;
}

while (true) {
  var group_students = [];
  var search = prompt('Search student records: type a name [Jody] or type quit to end.');
  if (search === null || search.toLowerCase === 'quit') {
    break;
  }

  else {
    for (var i = 0; i < students.length; i += 1) {
      student = students[i];
      if (search === student.name) {
        group_students.push(student);
        message = getStudentReport(group_students);
      }
    }
    if (message === '') {
     alert('Student not found.'); 
    }
    else {
      print(message);
    }
   }
}
Mike Hatch
Mike Hatch
14,940 Points
Mike Hatch
Mike Hatch
14,940 Points

I'll comment without answering because I don't have a solution for you. That being said, when I run it in the Console I get an error message for the loop area. See where you have "students.length"? It's undefined. I changed it to "group_students" which is defined and that fixed the Error message issue. However, it doesn't fix the program to run how you want it. Hopefully someone else can help you. This was a difficult challenge for many.

Allen Terzian
Allen Terzian
3,311 Points
Allen Terzian
Allen Terzian
3,311 Points

Mike Hatch - The 'students.length' is pulled from the separate 'students.js' file that holds the array of student information. You're probably running this code without that file. If you choose to run it in Console, make sure you paste the following code inside the code I posted above, or else it won't work:

var students = [ 
  { 
   name: 'Dave',
    track: 'Front End Development',
    achievements: 158,
    points: 14730
  },
  {
    name: 'Jody',
    track: 'iOS Development with Swift',
    achievements: '175',
    points: '16375'
  },
  {
    name: 'Jordan',
    track: 'PHP Development',
    achievements: '55',
    points: '2025'
  },
  {
    name: 'Jody',
    track: 'Learn WordPress',
    achievements: '40',
    points: '1950'
  },
  {
    name: 'Trish',
    track: 'Rails Development',
    achievements: '5',
    points: '350'
  }
];
Mike Hatch
Mike Hatch
14,940 Points
Mike Hatch
Mike Hatch
14,940 Points

Ah, right... Silly me. That's why I didn't Answer. Thank you. That's a good reminder to be mindful of separate files when testing code.

Allen Terzian
Allen Terzian
3,311 Points
Allen Terzian
Allen Terzian
3,311 Points

No worries and that's very true!

Ellinor Carlstedt
Ellinor Carlstedt
5,869 Points

Thank you so much for posting this solution! This assignment drove me insane too, and I didn't have as much patience with it as you apparantly did.

However, when I tried your solution I found that the "Student not found" message only appears if you type in an unknown name during the very first search. If you once have searched for, and found, a student in the register, the variable "message" already has a string in it. Therefore the condition "if (message === ' ' )" will never be true again.

This can be easily solved by declaring the variable "message" within the for-loop, just like the variable "group_students. Then it will be reset for every new search.

Wynston Champion
Wynston Champion
16,728 Points
Wynston Champion
Wynston Champion
16,728 Points

I also noticed that when typing 'quit' it did not result in the prompt closing. The response was 'Student not found'. I am not sure of a solution at the moment, but wanted to point that out.