I have a page that sets a few variables using javascript Math.random() as shown.

var RandomValue1 = Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);
var RandomValue2 = Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);
var string = array1[RandomValue1];
var string = array2[RandomValue2];

I would like to allow a user to pass the RandomValue value through the URL to another person. When the second person goes to the shared URL, RandomValue is the value as the first person - so that the second person sees the same 'string' as the first person.

I am fairly new to web design and web programming so I don't know if this needs to be handled on the server-side or client-side.

I assume I need to pass a url something like page1.html?RandomValue1=1&RandomValue2=3 but I cannot get the page to then set those variables and load. Can this be done in JavaScript?

I have a page that sets a few variables using javascript Math.random() as shown.

var RandomValue1 = Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);
var RandomValue2 = Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);
var string = array1[RandomValue1];
var string = array2[RandomValue2];

I would like to allow a user to pass the RandomValue value through the URL to another person. When the second person goes to the shared URL, RandomValue is the value as the first person - so that the second person sees the same 'string' as the first person.

I am fairly new to web design and web programming so I don't know if this needs to be handled on the server-side or client-side.

I assume I need to pass a url something like page1.html?RandomValue1=1&RandomValue2=3 but I cannot get the page to then set those variables and load. Can this be done in JavaScript?

• javascript

4 Answers 4

You can read GET variables with javascript. Here is an example function (source):

function getUrlVars() {
  var vars = {};
  var parts = window.location.href.replace(/[?&]+([^=&]+)=([^&]*)/gi, function(m,key,value) {
    vars[key] = value;
  });
  return vars;
}

Usage:

var first = getUrlVars()["id"];
var second = getUrlVars()["page"];

alert(first);
alert(second);

Your assumption is correct. You need to put those variables into the URL as PARAMETERS. I would further suggest using a "#" instead of actual parameters so you don't risk updating the page each time, so the URL would look like mydomain./page.html#RandomValue1=1&RandomValue2=3.

You can use Javascript to get / set those parameters by the window.location.href method. On page load, the Javascript will check to see whether there is a "#" and parse anything after it in the URL. After the page has loaded, a Javascript can be used to update those parameters.

See the following link for full documentation on how to use window.location:

https://developer.mozilla/en-US/docs/DOM/window.location

Oh, and here's a javascript library that might help get you there faster. It works with the hash ('#') and will automatically parse (deparameterize) the parameters for you, assigning them to strings / objects etc. which you can then use.

http://benalman./projects/jquery-bbq-plugin/

I would do it in PHP.

You can put a hidden field on your page (in a form). Set the form method to GET and have the action set to another PHP page.

<form id="form" name="form" action="my_page.php" method="GET">
  <input id="myId" name="myName" type="hidden />
</form>

In the PHP page you can manage the variables with the $_GET object.

<?php
  if(isset($_GET['myName'])){
    //do something with value;
  }
?>

Just remember that the GET and POST variables are based off the name attribute from the HTML elements. In my example, the hidden field has the name myName, so when I want to refer to it I use $_GET['myName'];

You will need to use the server to coordinate the data between both clients. In other words, the first user would need to submit their random value to the server - this could be done using a GET URL like page1.html?RandomValue1=1 although you might want to research POST requests.

Anyway, the second user could then go to the shared URL to see the value stored on the server.