How to Add Date Range to Array in JavaScript (Exclude Weekends)

Problem:

You need to add a range of dates to an array in JavaScript. Sometimes, you may want to exclude weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) from the date range, making it necessary to have a flexible function to handle these cases.

Solution:

You can solve this problem by creating a function that calculates all dates between a start and end date and adds them to an array. The solution also includes an option to skip weekends.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Here’s the JavaScript code that handles both adding a range of dates and optionally ignoring weekends.

function addDateRange(startDate, endDate, allowedDates, ignoreWeekends = false) {
    const start = new Date(startDate);
    const end = new Date(endDate);

    // Loop through each date in the range
    while (start <= end) {
        const dayOfWeek = start.getDay(); // 0 is Sunday, 6 is Saturday

        // Skip Saturdays and Sundays if ignoreWeekends is true
        if (ignoreWeekends && (dayOfWeek === 0 || dayOfWeek === 6)) {
            start.setDate(start.getDate() + 1);
            continue;
        }

        // Format and add the date to the array
        let formattedDate = start.toISOString().split('T')[0];
        if (!allowedDates.includes(formattedDate)) {
            allowedDates.push(formattedDate);
        }

        // Increment date by one day
        start.setDate(start.getDate() + 1);
    }
}

// Example usage:
var allowed_dates = ['2024-10-07', '2024-10-08', '2024-10-09'];
addDateRange('2024-10-07', '2024-11-24', allowed_dates, true); // Exclude weekends

console.log(allowed_dates);

How it Works:

Parameters:
- startDate: The beginning of your date range.
- endDate: The last date in your range.
- allowedDates: The array to store dates.
- ignoreWeekends: Optional boolean to skip weekends.
Functionality:
The function increments each date from the start date to the end date. If ignoreWeekends is set to true, it skips Saturdays (6) and Sundays (0).

Use Case:

You can use this function to manage events, bookings, or tasks where you need to track or work with dates, and you may need to exclude weekends.