SSJS Rows.Update function not working with variable in FOR loop

Question

I am trying to loop through all rows of a data extension and update the name of each record. I created an SSJS script activity to run the below code and it is not erroring out, but it is not updating my data extension either.

I have almost the exact same syntax in another script activity working just fine, but no luck with this one. Also, if I take the code out of the FOR loop and remove the subKey and hard code in a specific value then it will work, but I need that additional functionality to solve for the problem at hand. How do I fix it?

<script runat="server">
  Platform.Load('core', '1');

  var testDE = DataExtension.Init('Test12345');
  var testDEData = testDE.Rows.Retrieve();

  for (var i = 0; i < testDEData.length; i++) {
      var subKey = testDEData[i].SubscriberKey;

      var processing = testDE.Rows.Update({Name:'Bob'}, ['SubscriberKey'], [subKey]);
  }
</script>

Answer 1

This code actually does work as written, the issue I was having was due to using the data extension's name in the Init() line, rather than the external key. Thanks for the suggestions!

Answer 2

Try using this code on a landing page to debug the problem. Create a new landing page and put the code in an HTML bloc.

Save and click Schedule/Publish button (this will execute your SSJS code). You will get a preview of the page. If your code contains errors, it will keep spinning, otherwise you will get the subKey values on the screen.

<script runat="server">
  Platform.Load('core', '1');

  var testDE = DataExtension.Init('Test12345');
  var testDEData = testDE.Rows.Retrieve();

  for (var i = 0; i < testDEData.length; i++) {
      var subKey = testDEData[i].SubscriberKey;

      // prints the subKey's value on the screen
      Write(subKey + ' / ');

      var processing = testDE.Rows.Update({Name:'Bob'}, ['SubscriberKey'], [subKey]);
  }
</script>