.flat() is not a function, what's wrong?

Question

The following code

function steamrollArray(arr) {
  // I\'m a steamroller, baby
  return arr.flat();
}

steamrollArray([1, [2], [3, [[4]]]]);

Answer 1

Array.flat is not supported by your browser. Below are two ways to implement it.

As a function, the depth variable specifies how deep the input array structure should be flattened (defaults to 1; use Infinity to go as deep as it gets) while the stack is the flattened array, passed by reference on recursive calls and eventually returned.

function flat(input, depth = 1, stack = [])
{
    for (let item of input)
    {
        if (item instanceof Array && depth > 0)
        {
            flat(item, depth - 1, stack);
        }
        else {
            stack.push(item);
        }
    }
    
    return stack;
}

As a Polyfill, extending Array.prototype if you prefer the arr.flat() syntax:

if (!Array.prototype.flat)
{
    Object.defineProperty(Array.prototype, 'flat',
    {
        value: function(depth = 1, stack = [])
        {
            for (let item of this)
            {
                if (item instanceof Array && depth > 0)
                {
                    item.flat(depth - 1, stack);
                }
                else {
                    stack.push(item);
                }
            }
            
            return stack;
        }
    });
}