Angular 2 - NgFor using numbers instead collections

🌟 Angular 2 - NgFor using Numbers instead of Collections 🌟

Hey there, techies! 👋 Are you facing an Angular 2 dilemma where you want to use ngFor with numbers instead of collections? I've got your back! In this blog post, we'll unravel this issue, explore common problems, provide simple and elegant solutions, and empower you to level up your Angular 2 skills. Let's dive in! 💪

The Struggle is Real 😫

So, you have a case where you want to repeat a certain HTML element a fixed number of times without relying on a collection. Here's an example to better illustrate the problem:

<div class="month" *ngFor="#item of myCollection; #i = index">
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

But what if you want to loop through a fixed number, say 10, without using an array or any collection type? 🤔 This is where the challenge begins. You might be tempted to try something like this:

<div class="month" *ngFor="#item of 10; #i = index">
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Unfortunately, this won't work as expected. Angular 2's ngFor directive requires a collection to iterate over, and numbers alone won't cut it. 😓

The Creative Solution ✨

Fear not, brave Angularist! While there might not be a built-in solution for this specific use case, we can still conquer this challenge by thinking outside the box and coming up with a clever workaround. 💡

One non-elegant solution some developers resort to is creating a dummy collection with repeated values. Here's an example of what that looks like:

<div class="month" *ngFor="#item of ['dummy','dummy','dummy','dummy','dummy','dummy','dummy','dummy']; #i = index">
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

But let's be honest, this solution feels clunky and far from elegant. We strive for clean code and simplicity, right? 🌟

A More Elegant Workaround 🏄‍♂️

To overcome this limitation, we'll leverage the power of JavaScript within our Angular template with a little bit of help from an Angular directive called ng-container. 🤹‍♂️

Here's a creative way to achieve the desired outcome without compromising the elegance of your code:

<ng-container *ngFor="let item of [].constructor(10); let i = index">
  <div class="month">
    <!-- ... -->
  </div>
</ng-container>

Here's how it works:

1. We use ng-container, which is a flexible container that doesn't render any HTML tags itself.

2. By leveraging the constructor property of an empty array ([]), we can create a new array with the desired length. In our case, 10 means we want the loop to iterate ten times.

3. We then use let item of to iterate over this array, just as we would with a regular collection.

4. Finally, we use the let i = index syntax to get the current index within the loop, which can come in handy in many cases.

Engage and Share Your Success! 🎉

Congratulations on conquering this Angular 2 challenge! 🥳 Now that you've added this powerful technique to your knowledge bank, don't keep it to yourself. Share this blog post with your developer buddies to help them level up their Angular 2 game as well!

I hope this guide proved helpful to you. If you have any further questions or want to share any other creative Angular solutions, feel free to leave a comment below. Let's keep learning and growing together! 🌱

Keep coding and stay awesome! 💻✨