Using JavaScript/JQuery to get words from a text file

Jamin2112 · May 5, 2014

I was searching around the internet for a procedure to read lines of a text file into a JavaScript array. Most of the procedures I saw used Ajax, which I don't understand yet, so I'll refrain from trying to cut-and-paste code that I don't understand.

I found this

Code:

        $.get('wordsEn.txt', function(myContentFile)
        {
            words = myContentFile.split("\r\n");
        }, 'text');

JQuery function call, which does the trick, but how can I get words into the scope outside of the function call? I want to actually be able to use it.

Superposed_Cat · May 5, 2014

This will probably help you, shows how to use 'push'.
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8725371/pass-variable-outside-of-function-jquery

.Scott · May 5, 2014

You can declare "var words" before the .get call - but I think that's only half the problem.
I haven't used jQuery, but I suspect that "myContentFile" becomes available asynchronously to the rest of the program. So let's say you put the "var words;" and "$.get(..." in the <head> section and a reference to the words array "later" in the body. What will happen is that the reference in the body will happen before the data is ready - that is, before the "function(myContentFile)" is called.

Unless you're already using the jQuery library, I would used code such as this:

Code:

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
var Words;
var WordFile = new XMLHttpRequest();
  WordFile.open("GET", "file:///C:/temp/html/words.txt", false);
  WordFile.onreadystatechange =
    function () {
      if(WordFile.readyState === 4)
      {
        if(WordFile.status === 200 || WordFile.status == 0)
        {
          Words = WordFile.responseText.split("\r\n");
        }
      }
    };
  WordFile.send(null);
</script>
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
document.write(Words[2]);
</script>
</body>
</html>

Jamin2112 · May 8, 2014

.Scott said:
You can declare "var words" before the .get call - but I think that's only half the problem.
I haven't used jQuery, but I suspect that "myContentFile" becomes available asynchronously to the rest of the program. So let's say you put the "var words;" and "$.get(..." in the <head> section and a reference to the words array "later" in the body. What will happen is that the reference in the body will happen before the data is ready - that is, before the "function(myContentFile)" is called.

Unless you're already using the jQuery library, I would used code such as this:
Code:
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
var Words;
var WordFile = new XMLHttpRequest();
  WordFile.open("GET", "file:///C:/temp/html/words.txt", false);
  WordFile.onreadystatechange =
    function () {
      if(WordFile.readyState === 4)
      {
        if(WordFile.status === 200 || WordFile.status == 0)
        {
          Words = WordFile.responseText.split("\r\n");
        }
      }
    };
  WordFile.send(null);
</script>
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
document.write(Words[2]);
</script>
</body>
</html>

Seems to work. Thanks.

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