Simplest code for array intersection in javascript

Use a combination of Array.prototype.filter and Array.prototype.includes:

const filteredArray = array1.filter(value => array2.includes(value));

For older browsers, with Array.prototype.indexOf and without an arrow function:

var filteredArray = array1.filter(function(n) {
    return array2.indexOf(n) !== -1;
});

NB! Both .includes and .indexOf internally compares elements in the array by using ===, so if the array contains objects it will only compare object references (not their content). If you want to specify your own comparison logic, use Array.prototype.some instead.

Destructive seems simplest, especially if we can assume the input is sorted:

/* destructively finds the intersection of 
 * two arrays in a simple fashion.  
 *
 * PARAMS
 *  a - first array, must already be sorted
 *  b - second array, must already be sorted
 *
 * NOTES
 *  State of input arrays is undefined when
 *  the function returns.  They should be 
 *  (prolly) be dumped.
 *
 *  Should have O(n) operations, where n is 
 *    n = MIN(a.length, b.length)
 */
function intersection_destructive(a, b)
{
  var result = [];
  while( a.length > 0 && b.length > 0 )
  {  
     if      (a[0] < b[0] ){ a.shift(); }
     else if (a[0] > b[0] ){ b.shift(); }
     else /* they're equal */
     {
       result.push(a.shift());
       b.shift();
     }
  }

  return result;
}

Non-destructive has to be a hair more complicated, since we’ve got to track indices:

/* finds the intersection of 
 * two arrays in a simple fashion.  
 *
 * PARAMS
 *  a - first array, must already be sorted
 *  b - second array, must already be sorted
 *
 * NOTES
 *
 *  Should have O(n) operations, where n is 
 *    n = MIN(a.length(), b.length())
 */
function intersect_safe(a, b)
{
  var ai=0, bi=0;
  var result = [];

  while( ai < a.length && bi < b.length )
  {
     if      (a[ai] < b[bi] ){ ai++; }
     else if (a[ai] > b[bi] ){ bi++; }
     else /* they're equal */
     {
       result.push(a[ai]);
       ai++;
       bi++;
     }
  }

  return result;
}

If your environment supports ECMAScript 6 Set, one simple and supposedly efficient (see specification link) way:

function intersect(a, b) {
  var setA = new Set(a);
  var setB = new Set(b);
  var intersection = new Set([...setA].filter(x => setB.has(x)));
  return Array.from(intersection);
}

Shorter, but less readable (also without creating the additional intersection Set):

function intersect(a, b) {
  var setB = new Set(b);
  return [...new Set(a)].filter(x => setB.has(x));
}

Note that when using sets you will only get distinct values, thus new Set([1, 2, 3, 3]).size evaluates to 3.

Using Underscore.js or lodash.js

_.intersection( [0,345,324] , [1,0,324] )  // gives [0,324]

// Return elements of array a that are also in b in linear time:
function intersect(a, b) {
  return a.filter(Set.prototype.has, new Set(b));
}

// Example:
console.log(intersect([1,2,3], [2,3,4,5]));

I recommend above succinct solution which outperforms other implementations on large inputs. If performance on small inputs matters, check the alternatives below.

Alternatives and performance comparison:

See the following snippet for alternative implementations and check https://jsperf.com/array-intersection-comparison for performance comparisons.

function intersect_for(a, b) {
  const result = [];
  const alen = a.length;
  const blen = b.length;
  for (let i = 0; i < alen; ++i) {
    const ai = a[i];
    for (let j = 0; j < blen; ++j) {
      if (ai === b[j]) {
        result.push(ai);
        break;
      }
    }
  } 
  return result;
}

function intersect_filter_indexOf(a, b) {
  return a.filter(el => b.indexOf(el) !== -1);
}

function intersect_filter_in(a, b) {
  const map = b.reduce((map, el) => {map[el] = true; return map}, {});
  return a.filter(el => el in map);
}

function intersect_for_in(a, b) {
  const result = [];
  const map = {};
  for (let i = 0, length = b.length; i < length; ++i) {
    map[b[i]] = true;
  }
  for (let i = 0, length = a.length; i < length; ++i) {
    if (a[i] in map) result.push(a[i]);
  }
  return result;
}

function intersect_filter_includes(a, b) {
  return a.filter(el => b.includes(el));
}

function intersect_filter_has_this(a, b) {
  return a.filter(Set.prototype.has, new Set(b));
}

function intersect_filter_has_arrow(a, b) {
  const set = new Set(b);
  return a.filter(el => set.has(el));
}

function intersect_for_has(a, b) {
  const result = [];
  const set = new Set(b);
  for (let i = 0, length = a.length; i < length; ++i) {
    if (set.has(a[i])) result.push(a[i]);
  }
  return result;
}

Results in Firefox 53:

Ops/sec on large arrays (10,000 elements):

filter + has (this)               523 (this answer)
for + has                         482
for-loop + in                     279
filter + in                       242
for-loops                          24
filter + includes                  14
filter + indexOf                   10

Ops/sec on small arrays (100 elements):

for-loop + in                 384,426
filter + in                   192,066
for-loops                     159,137
filter + includes             104,068
filter + indexOf               71,598
filter + has (this)            43,531 (this answer)
filter + has (arrow function)  35,588

Simplest code for array intersection in javascript

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