Better way to sum a property value in an array

Question

I know that this question has an accepted answer but I thought I'd chip in with an alternative which uses array.reduce, seeing that summing an array is the canonical example for reduce:

$scope.sum = function(items, prop){
    return items.reduce( function(a, b){
        return a + b[prop];
    }, 0);
};

$scope.travelerTotal = $scope.sum($scope.traveler, 'Amount');

Fiddle

Just another take, this is what native JavaScript functions Map and Reduce were built for (Map and Reduce are powerhouses in many languages).

var traveler = [{description: 'Senior', Amount: 50},
                {description: 'Senior', Amount: 50},
                {description: 'Adult', Amount: 75},
                {description: 'Child', Amount: 35},
                {description: 'Infant', Amount: 25}];

function amount(item){
  return item.Amount;
}

function sum(prev, next){
  return prev + next;
}

traveler.map(amount).reduce(sum);
// => 235;

// or use arrow functions
traveler.map(item => item.Amount).reduce((prev, next) => prev + next);

Note: by making separate smaller functions we get the ability to use them again.

// Example of reuse.
// Get only Amounts greater than 0;

// Also, while using Javascript, stick with camelCase.
// If you do decide to go against the standards, 
// then maintain your decision with all keys as in...

// { description: 'Senior', Amount: 50 }

// would be

// { Description: 'Senior', Amount: 50 };

var travelers = [{description: 'Senior', amount: 50},
                {description: 'Senior', amount: 50},
                {description: 'Adult', amount: 75},
                {description: 'Child', amount: 35},
                {description: 'Infant', amount: 0 }];

// Directly above Travelers array I changed "Amount" to "amount" to match standards.

function amount(item){
  return item.amount;
}

travelers.filter(amount);
// => [{description: 'Senior', amount: 50},
//     {description: 'Senior', amount: 50},
//     {description: 'Adult', amount: 75},
//     {description: 'Child', amount: 35}];
//     Does not include "Infant" as 0 is falsey.

Updated Answer

Due to all the downsides of adding a function to the Array prototype, I am updating this answer to provide an alternative that keeps the syntax similar to the syntax originally requested in the question.

class TravellerCollection extends Array {
    sum(key) {
        return this.reduce((a, b) => a + (b[key] || 0), 0);
    }
}
const traveler = new TravellerCollection(...[
    {  description: 'Senior', Amount: 50},
    {  description: 'Senior', Amount: 50},
    {  description: 'Adult', Amount: 75},
    {  description: 'Child', Amount: 35},
    {  description: 'Infant', Amount: 25 },
]);

console.log(traveler.sum('Amount')); //~> 235

Original Answer

Since it is an array you could add a function to the Array prototype.

traveler = [
    {  description: 'Senior', Amount: 50},
    {  description: 'Senior', Amount: 50},
    {  description: 'Adult', Amount: 75},
    {  description: 'Child', Amount: 35},
    {  description: 'Infant', Amount: 25 },
];

Array.prototype.sum = function (prop) {
    var total = 0
    for ( var i = 0, _len = this.length; i < _len; i++ ) {
        total += this[i][prop]
    }
    return total
}

console.log(traveler.sum("Amount"))

The Fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/9BAmj/

I always avoid changing prototype method and adding library so this is my solution:

Using reduce Array prototype method is sufficient

// + operator for casting to Number
items.reduce((a, b) => +a + +b.price, 0);

Use reduce with destructuring to sum Amount:

const traveler = [
  { description: 'Senior', Amount: 50 },
  { description: 'Senior', Amount: 50 },
  { description: 'Adult', Amount: 75 },
  { description: 'Child', Amount: 35 },
  { description: 'Infant', Amount: 25 },
];

console.log(traveler.reduce((n, {Amount}) => n + Amount, 0))

Alternative for improved readability and using Map and Reduce:

const traveler = [
    {  description: 'Senior', amount: 50 },
    {  description: 'Senior', amount: 50 },
    {  description: 'Adult', amount: 75 },
    {  description: 'Child', amount: 35 },
    {  description: 'Infant', amount: 25 },
];

const sum = traveler
  .map(item => item.amount)
  .reduce((prev, curr) => prev + curr, 0);

Re-useable function:

const calculateSum = (obj, field) => obj
  .map(items => items.attributes[field])
  .reduce((prev, curr) => prev + curr, 0);