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Host objects

Even though these methods are defined by ECMA-262, the results are implementation-dependent because

you can calculate each value in many different ways. Consequently, the precision of the results may also

vary from one implementation to another.

The last method of the

Math

object is

random()

. This method returns a random number between the 0

and 1, not including 0 and 1. This is a favorite tool of Web sites that are trying to display random quotes

or random facts upon entry. You can use

random()

to select numbers within a certain range by using the

following formula:

number = Math.floor(Math.random() * total_number_of_choices + first_possible_value)

The

floor()

method is used here because

random()

always returns a decimal value, meaning that mul-

tiplying it by a number and adding another still yields a decimal value. Most of the time, you want to

select a random integer. Because of that, the

floor()

method is needed. So, if you wanted to select a

number between 1 and 10, the code looks like this:

var iNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 10 + 1);

You see 10 possible values (1 through 10) with the first possible value being 1. If you want to select a

number between 2 and 10, then the code looks like this:

var iNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 9 + 2);

There are only nine numbers when counting from 2 to 10, so the total number of choices is 9 with the

first possible value being 2. Many times, it’s just easier to use a function that handles the calculation of

the total number of choices and the first possible value:

function selectFrom(iFirstValue, iLastValue) {

var iChoices = iLastValue – iFirstValue + 1;

return Math.floor(Math.random() * iChoices + iFirstValue);

}

//select from between 2 and 10

var iNum = selectFrom(2, 10);

Using the function, it’s easy to select a random item from an

Array

var aColors = [“red”, “green”, “blue”, “yellow”, “black”, “purple”, “brown”];

var sColor = aColors[selectFrom(0, aColors.length-1)];

Here, the second parameter to

selectFrom()

is the length of the array minus 1, which (as you remem-

ber) is the last position in an array.

Host objects

Any object that is not native is considered to be a

host object

, which is defined as an object provided by

the host environment of an ECMAScript implementation. All BOM and DOM objects are considered to

be host objects and are discussed later in the book.

Object Basics

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