Here is a little snippet that you may find useful if you ever have to randomize the contents of an array:


Array.prototype.randomize = function() {
  var t, j, ret = this.slice(0), i = ret.length;
  while(--i > 0) {
    t = ret[j = Math.round(Math.random() * i)];
    ret[j] = ret[i];
    ret[i] = t;
  }
  return ret;
};

Here is an example of how to use it with an array:


// The array of random names.
var names = [
  "Amy",
  "Greg",
  "Jen",
  "Matthew",
  "Owen",
  "Richard",
  "Stacy",
  "Tiffany",
  "Victoria",
  "Wanda"
];
// Randomize the array of names.
var randomOrder = names.randomize();
// Display the names.
alert("This will be the order:\n- " + randomOrder.join("\n- "));

The above example will show the names that are in the names array in random order. If we are using a JavaScript library that defines Array.prototype.map()) (such as jPaq) or we know that the page will be viewed on newer browsers (such as Firefox 3.5+ or Google Chrome), we could take the following approach to actually display the number order next to each name:


// The array of random names.
var names = [
  "Amy",
  "Greg",
  "Jen",
  "Matthew",
  "Owen",
  "Richard",
  "Stacy",
  "Tiffany",
  "Victoria",
  "Wanda"
];
// Randomize the array and display the number of each name to the left of the
// name.
var randomOrder = names.randomize().map(function(name, i) {
  return ++i + ". " + name;
});
// Display the names in random order.
alert("This will be the order:\n" + randomOrder.join("\n"));
Categories: BlogJavaScriptJScript

1 Comment

Chris West's Blog » JavaScript – Array.prototype.randomize() · July 7, 2011 at 7:06 PM

[…] Continued here: Chris West's Blog » JavaScript – Array.prototype.randomize() […]

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