javascript - Randomly select file from folder in JS without an array - Stack Overflow

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?

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?

• javascript
• jquery

Share Follow asked Sep 24, 2012 at 20:43 YahreenYahreen 1,67977 gold badges2424 silver badges3838 bronze badges

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3 Answers 3

Sorted by: Reset to default 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.

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

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.