var myarray = ["item 1", "item 2", "item 3", "item 4"];
//removes the first element of the array, and returns that element.
alert(myarray.shift());
//alerts "item 1"
//removes the last element of the array, and returns that element.
alert(myarray.pop());
//alerts "item 4"
// example (remove the last element in the array)
let yourArray = ["aaa", "bbb", "ccc", "ddd"];
yourArray.shift(); // yourArray = ["bbb", "ccc", "ddd"]
// syntax:
// <array-name>.shift();
// remove the first element with shift
let flowers = ["Rose", "Lily", "Tulip", "Orchid"];
// assigning shift to a variable is not needed if
// you don't need the first element any longer
let removedFlowers = flowers.shift();
console.log(flowers); // ["Lily", "Tulip", "Orchid"]
console.log(removedFlowers); // "Rose"