flatten an array

by Rich Costello

JavaScript

var array = [[0, 1], [2, 3], [4, 5, [6, 7, [8, [9, 10]]]]];
console.log(flatten(array), array); // does not mutate array
console.log(flatten(array, true), array); // array is now empty
console.log(flatten([]));

// This is done in a linear time O(n) without recursion
// memory complexity is O(1) or O(n) if mutable param is set to false
function flatten(array, mutable) {
    var toString = Object.prototype.toString;
    var arrayTypeStr = '[object Array]';
    
    var result = [];
    var nodes = (mutable && array) || array.slice();
    var node;
    
    if (!array.length) {
        return result;
    }
    
    node = nodes.pop();
    
    do {
        if (toString.call(node) === arrayTypeStr) {
            nodes.push.apply(nodes, node);
        } else {
            result.push(node);
        }
    } while (nodes.length && (node = nodes.pop()) !== undefined);

    result.reverse(); // we reverse result to restore the original order
    return result;
}