Randomly select file from folder in JS without an array

Question

I have this code to randomly grab a file from a folder path, and load it via jQuery:

var path = '/path-to-files/',
files = ['1.php', '2.php', '3.php', '4.php', '5.php', '6.php'],
i = Math.floor(Math.random()*files.length);
var url = (path+files[i]);
$("#my-div").load(url);

It's great, it works well. But I would prefer a method to randomly grab files from the path without building an array. Is that possible?

user400654 · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-24 20:49:21Z

5

You can't get a list of files from a directory using just JavaScript(jQuery is JavaScript), it would have to be handled from the server. You could request a server-file that then returns the content of a random file from a directory.

answered Sep 24, 2012 at 20:49

user400654

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I Hate Lazy · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-24 20:44:56Z

5

var i = Math.floor(Math.random() * 6) + 1;
$("#my-div").load('/path-to-files/' + i + '.php');

answered Sep 24, 2012 at 20:44

I Hate Lazy

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7 Comments

Yahreen Over a year ago

What if I did not want to specify a max limit on files (in this example, 6)?

I Hate Lazy Over a year ago

@Yahreen: You mean a random number from 1 to Infinity?

jholloman Over a year ago

This is just as hardcoded as what he had in the original question.

I Hate Lazy Over a year ago

@Yahreen: You're saying you want filenames from the server without having a collection present in the scripting environment?

Yahreen Over a year ago

@user1689607 yes, it sounds like I will need a server solution for my problem. Thank you.

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jholloman · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-24 20:49:29Z

1

You'll need to make a server request to get the array of possible files. This is the only way to do this without sticking to a naming convention or a set list of files.

answered Sep 24, 2012 at 20:49

jholloman

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