By Vishal Basumatary in javascript — Mar 24, 2023

underscore javascript

Underscore Javascript Explained

Underscore.js is a JavaScript library that adds utility functions to the language, which are not present in the core JavaScript language itself. Underscore.js provides a set of functions that can make your code cleaner, more concise, and more efficient.

Installing Underscore.js

To use Underscore.js in your project, you can either download it from the official website or use a package manager, such as npm or Yarn. Once you have downloaded or installed the library, you can include it in your project using a script tag:

<script src="underscore.js"></script>

Using Underscore.js

Underscore.js provides a variety of utility functions, such as:

map
reduce
each
filter
find
where
some
every
groupBy
sortBy
indexBy
countBy
shuffle
sample
toArray
size
isEqual
isEmpty
extend
defaults
template
chain
and many others...

Example Usage

Here's an example usage of the map function:

// Define an array of numbers
var numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

// Use the map function to add 1 to each number
var incrementedNumbers = _.map(numbers, function(number) {
  return number + 1;
});

// Log the result to the console
console.log(incrementedNumbers);

The output of the above code would be:

[2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Alternative Ways to Use Underscore.js

There are many alternative ways to use Underscore.js, such as:

Using Underscore.js with jQuery: You can use Underscore.js alongside jQuery to write cleaner and more efficient code.
Using Underscore.js with Backbone.js: Underscore.js is used extensively in Backbone.js to provide utility functions.
Using Underscore.js with Lodash: Lodash is a modern JavaScript utility library that is inspired by Underscore.js. It provides similar functionality with some additional features.

In conclusion, Underscore.js is a powerful JavaScript library that provides utility functions to make your code cleaner and more efficient. Whether you are writing a small script or a large application, Underscore.js can help you write better JavaScript code.