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mode() : Find Most Common Value

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Summary

Find the mode (most frequently occurring value) in a collection. Returns the value that appears most often.

Signature 

mode(collection)

Parameters

Parameter Type Required Description
collection Array Yes The collection of values

Returns

Type: Same as collection item type

The most frequently occurring value. If multiple values tie for most frequent, returns the first one encountered. Returns null for empty collections.

Examples

Basic Mode 

<p>Most common score: </p>

Data:

doc.Params["model"] = new {
    scores = new[] { 85, 90, 85, 92, 88, 85, 95 }  // 85 appears 3 times
};

Output:

<p>Most common score: 85</p>

Statistical Summary 

<h3>Test Results</h3>
<p>Mean: </p>
<p>Median: </p>
<p>Mode: </p>
<p>The most common score was </p>

Data:

doc.Params["model"] = new {
    scores = new[] { 78, 85, 85, 90, 85, 92, 88 }
};

Output:

<h3>Test Results</h3>
<p>Mean: 86.1</p>
<p>Median: 85</p>
<p>Mode: 85</p>
<p>The most common score was 85</p>

<p>Most ordered product: </p>

Data:

doc.Params["model"] = new {
    orders = new[] {
        new { orderId = 1, productId = "A001" },
        new { orderId = 2, productId = "A002" },
        new { orderId = 3, productId = "A001" },
        new { orderId = 4, productId = "A003" },
        new { orderId = 5, productId = "A001" }
    }
};

Output:

<p>Most ordered product: A001</p>

Customer Preferences 

<h3>Survey Results</h3>
<p>Responses collected: </p>
<p>Most popular choice: </p>

  <p> people chose this option</p>

Data:

doc.Params["model"] = new {
    responses = new[] {
        new { respondent = "User1", choice = "Option A" },
        new { respondent = "User2", choice = "Option B" },
        new { respondent = "User3", choice = "Option A" },
        new { respondent = "User4", choice = "Option C" },
        new { respondent = "User5", choice = "Option A" },
        new { respondent = "User6", choice = "Option B" }
    }
};

Output:

<h3>Survey Results</h3>
<p>Responses collected: 6</p>
<p>Most popular choice: Option A</p>
<p>3 people chose this option</p>

String Mode 

<p>Most common status: </p>

Data:

doc.Params["model"] = new {
    tasks = new[] {
        new { id = 1, status = "active" },
        new { id = 2, status = "completed" },
        new { id = 3, status = "active" },
        new { id = 4, status = "pending" },
        new { id = 5, status = "active" }
    }
};

Output:

<p>Most common status: active</p>

Notes

  • Returns null for empty or null collections
  • Works with any comparable type (numbers, strings, dates, etc.)
  • If multiple values tie for most frequent, returns first encountered
  • Case-sensitive for string comparisons
  • Does not return frequency count (use countOf() for that)
  • Useful for:
    • Finding most popular items
    • Survey analysis
    • Identifying common patterns
    • Customer preference analysis
    • Quality control (most common defect)
  • For property-based mode, use with collect(): mode(collect(items, 'property'))
  • Different from mean and median:
    • Mean: arithmetic average
    • Median: middle value
    • Mode: most common value
  • Can be used with non-numeric data (unlike mean/median)

See Also