Compare data with present date google script - date

Question

Hi i want to compare column with date (i.e "Referral Date" column)
with present day , here is what i have
function newF(){
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName('Worksheet');
var range = ss.getDataRange();
var headers = range.getValues()[0];
var colIndex = headers.indexOf("Referral Date");
var today = new Date();
var searchRange = ss.getRange(2,colIndex+1,ss.getLastRow()-1);
for (i=0;i<range.getLastRow();i++){
var dates = searchRange.getValues();
if (today.valueOf()>dates.valueOf()){
updatelFilter()
} else{
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().alert('Future Date Error');
break;
}
}
}
The problem i have is, it throws alert Future Date Error irrespective of date in column (Referral Date). Let me know if additional information is required.
My goal:
1)if date column (Referral Date) is greater than present date : Throw alert error & should not run updateFilter
2)if (Referral Date) is lesser than present date: Run updateFilter function

Answer 1

Issues
searchRange.getValues() yields a two dimensional array. So dates[0][0] points to a date, while dates[0] points to an array.
var dates = searchRange.getValues(); is being called inside the loop repeatedly, when it should ideally be called outside once since the value will not change; calling it inside the loop is costly and redundant
for (i=0;i<range.getLastRow();i++){ the condition can be replaced with i<dates.length if point 2 is followed
if (today.valueOf()>dates.valueOf()){ I believe is supposed to have dates[0] instead
Modified Code
function newF(){
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName('Worksheet');
var range = ss.getDataRange();
var headers = range.getValues()[0];
var colIndex = headers.indexOf("Referral Date");
var today = new Date();
var searchRange = ss.getRange(2,colIndex+1,ss.getLastRow()-1);
var dates = searchRange.getValues().map(d=>d[0]);
for (i=0;i<dates.length;i++) {
if (today.valueOf()>dates[i].valueOf()){
updateFilter()
} else {
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().alert('Future Date Error');
break;
}
}
}
To run updateFilter only if no future dates
Replace the loop with the following -
if(dates.some(d => today.valueOf() < d.valueOf())) {
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().alert('Future Date Error');
} else {
for (let i=0; i<dates.length; i++) {
updateFilter();
}
}