How to get Javascript object from HTML element - javascript

I have 3 "dice" objects created from this custom constructor:
function Dice() {
this.value = 0;
this.keep = false;
this.roll = function() {
this.value = Math.floor(Math.random()*6)+1;
};
}
Then, inside function rollOnce(), I have 3 HTML buttons inside a document.getElementById("paragraph1").innerHTML command that will display each dice's value as follows:
function rollOnce() {
(...)
document.getElementById("paragraph1").innerHTML =
'<button id="diceOne" class="unkept" onclick="keepDice(this.id)">'+dice1.value+'</button> ' +
'<button id="diceTwo" class="unkept" onclick="keepDice(this.id)">'+dice2.value+'</button> ' +
'<button id="diceThree" class="unkept" onclick="keepDice(this.id)">'+dice3.value+'</button> ';
}
Now, function keepDice(diceId) will set attribute class="kept" for each dice/button that has been clicked.
The next thing I want to do is to know which dice variable (dice1, dice2, dice3) has been clicked (in order to keep their value by doing diceN.keep = true;. Because after that there will be another round of the game in which only those dice which are "unkept" will get another diceN.roll() call. But my knowledge is still very limited and I only know how to access (HTML only) elements by using document.getElementsBy(...) (this is the HTML DOM, right? I'm currently learning this at W3Schools).
I have not yet learned about jQuery, AngularJS and all the other cool webdev stuff. So if it is possible to answer using only Javascript it would be much appreciated (even if other libs would make it easier! It's a bonus if there are alternative solutions and I would be happy to learn too!). Is this possible at all?
Thanks in advance,

Maybe something like class="kept-'+dice1.keet+'" onclick="keepDice(1)"
then
function keepDice(index){
dices[index].keep = true;
turns--;
if (turns > 0) {
rollOnce()
}
}

Try this:
function keepDice(id) {
var whichDice;
switch(id) {
case 'diceOne':
whichDice = dice1;
break;
case 'diceTwo':
whichDice = dice2;
break;
case 'diceThree':
whichDice = dice3;
break;
}
whichDice.keep = true;
}

If you stored your dice in an associative array like this:
dice['diceOne'] = new Dice();
dice['diceTwo'] = new Dice();
dice['diceThree'] = new Dice();
you would create the buttons almost the same way
<button id="diceOne" class="unkept" onclick="keepDice(this.id)">dice["diceOne"].value</button>
you could then write your dice function like this
function keepDice(id)
{
dice[id].keep = true;
document.GetElementById(id).setAttribute("class","kept");
//...
}

I came back to this again and realised there's a better way. It's quite a different approach than what you've got so far, but let me explain...
I know your question title is "How to get Javascript object from HTML element" but my answer better serves the question "How to get HTML element from Javascript object" and also better solves the problem you're facing.
First, I set the stage by creating a container element #paragraph1 and a "Roll Once" button which runs the rollOnce() function
<p id="paragraph1"></p>
<button onclick="rollOnce()">Roll Once</button>
Then I create the Dice() Object which takes a parameter - this parameter is the id of the element we wish to use as a container. We must wait for the HTML to load before we can find that container because until then, it simply doesn't exist yet. That's why I have bound a function to the document.onreadystatechange event.
So when the HTML has loaded and the document is ready, I initialise the Object, storing it in a var and the Object has all the required functions built-in for managing it's button.
function Dice(container) {
this.button = document.createElement("button");
this.button.innerHTML = 0;
document.getElementById(container).appendChild(this.button);
this.button.addEventListener('click', function() {
this.className = 'kept';
});
this.roll = function() {
if(this.button.className != 'kept') {
this.button.innerHTML = Math.floor(Math.random()*6)+1;
}
}
}
var dice1;
var dice2;
var dice3;
document.onreadystatechange = function () {
if(document.readyState == "complete") {
dice1 = new Dice("paragraph1");
dice2 = new Dice("paragraph1");
dice3 = new Dice("paragraph1");
rollOnce();
}
}
function rollOnce() {
dice1.roll();
dice2.roll();
dice3.roll();
}
Fully working demonstration is here: http://codepen.io/anon/pen/groEmg
Edit: If you want to get the values of the dice later, you can access the Objects' properties like so: dice1.button.innerHTML

You need to keep track of what has been kept and what has not been kept. It would be useful to hold all the dice functionality inside the dice class. every time you run rollOnce() you must also represent the kept/unkept state in the className.
Here's an example including what I gather is your current initialisation - define var dice then define rollOnce() then run rollOnce()
function Dice() {
this.value = 0;
this.kept = false;
this.roll = function() {
if(!this.kept) this.value = Math.floor(Math.random()*6)+1;
};
this.keep = function(id) {
this.kept = true;
document.getElementById(id).className = 'kept';
}
}
var dice1 = new Dice();
var dice2 = new Dice();
var dice3 = new Dice();
function rollOnce() {
dice1.roll();
dice2.roll();
dice3.roll();
document.getElementById("paragraph1").innerHTML =
'<button id="diceOne" class="'+(dice1.kept?'kept':'keep')+'" onclick="dice1.keep(\'diceOne\')">'+dice1.value+'</button> ' +
'<button id="diceTwo" class="'+(dice2.kept?'kept':'keep')+'" onclick="dice2.keep(\'diceTwo\')">'+dice2.value+'</button> ' +
'<button id="diceThree" class="'+(dice3.kept?'kept':'keep')+'" onclick="dice3.keep(\'diceThree\')">'+dice3.value+'</button> ';
}
rollOnce();
I've made it pass an ID to Dice.keep(id) just to have a live update of the DOM element which represents this Object variable.
Some clarification on the classnames since you're a beginner: I used ternary logic operators to quickly perform an IF THEN ELSE
So the part that says dice1.kept?'kept':'keep'
Actually means IF dice1.kept THEN 'kept' ELSE 'keep'
You can put a blank '' instead of 'keep' if you like since I don't think it's being used (but you might use it for CSS). Of course, there is plenty of room for improvement all over this code, but I wanted to keep it as similar to your sample code as possible. In fact, the first thing I would do is probably change the onclick to this: onclick="dice1.keep(this)" and then change your object like:
this.keep = function(button) {
this.kept = true;
button.className = 'kept';
}
http://codepen.io/anon/pen/MyrxyX
Edit: here's a slightly modified version where the Dice() object is agnostic to the DOM but still provides all the relevant data: http://codepen.io/anon/pen/MyrxbB

Related

Plain OOP Javascript: Treating localStorage as an Array doesn't work?

I am trying to implement localStorage with my simple OOP todo list.
The fiddle is here: https://jsfiddle.net/b81t2789/
I thought I could just treat the local storage like an array and copy the logic I used with my actual array but that doesn't work.
Here, right after pushing the task into the array, I added a line that stores the task in the local storage and stringifies it:
// function that adds new task to the array
function pushArray(){
var newtask = new Task(toDo.value, "No note yet");
taskItems.push(newtask);
var storedTask = localStorage.setItem(newtask, JSON.stringify(newtask));
displayStorage(result2, storedTask);
displayArray(result, newtask.Name);
appendNote(result, newtask);
}
Then right below the function that displays the new array element I added one that retrieves the item from local storage, parses it, then creates a DOM element with the new task and appends it to another container.
//function that displays array elements
function displayArray(parent,obj){
var task = make("div","class","taskitem",obj);
parent.appendChild(task);
fadeIn(task);
}
//function that displays storage elements
function displayStorage(parent,obj){
var retrieveObject = localStorage.getItem(obj);
var parseTask = JSON.parse(retrieveObject);
var newDiv = make("div", "class", "newdiv", parseTask);
parent.appendChild(newDiv);
fadeIn(newDiv);
}
This doesn't work at all, not sure why, and then if I were to be able to get this to work how would I continue to go about storing and updating notes like I did in the array with local Storage? I thought this would be easy as I figured out how to make a todo with objects and arrays pretty quickly (when I thought it would be super difficult, but it's been a week now and I've made no progress!)
I guess these are the pitfalls of learning to code by yourself, any help would be much appreciated thank you!
Here is the full javascript code:
//getElementById shortcut
function grab(id) {
return document.getElementById(id);
}
// add eventlistener shortcut
var when = function() {
return function(obj, event, func) {
obj.addEventListener(event, func, false);
};
}();
//Custom function to create DOM elements and set their contents
function make(el,type,name,content){
var theElement = document.createElement(el);
theElement.setAttribute(type, name);
theElement.innerHTML = content;
return theElement;
}
//compute style shortcut
function setStyle(theElement){
return window.getComputedStyle(theElement);
}
//fade in shortcut.
function fadeIn(theElement){
var compute = setStyle(theElement).opacity;
theElement.style.opacity = 1;
}
/*****************************************************/
var toDo = grab("todo");
var result = grab("demo");
var demolist = grab("demolist");
var button = grab("btn");
// submit input on enter which fires function that pushes task into the array.
when(toDo, "keypress", function(event){
if (event.key == "Enter" || event.keyCode == 13) {
pushArray();
toDo.value = "";
}
});
// "SHOW ARRAY" FUNCTION to verify that the array is being updated (I like this better than using the console);
when(button, "click", function(event){
demolist.innerHTML = "";
for(i=0; i< taskItems.length; i++){
demolist.innerHTML += taskItems[i].Name + " " + taskItems[i].Note + "<br>";
}
});
function showNotes(theNote){
var defaultNote = "No note yet";
if(theNote){
}
}
var taskItems = [];
/*********************************************************/
//create Task object
function Task(name, note){
this.Name = name;
this.Note = note;
this.completed = false;
}
// function that adds new task to the array
function pushArray(){
var newtask = new Task(toDo.value, "No note yet");
taskItems.push(newtask);
displayArray(result, newtask.Name);
appendNote(result, newtask);
}
//function that displays array elements
function displayArray(parent,obj){
var task = make("div","class","taskitem",obj);
parent.appendChild(task);
fadeIn(task);
}
//function that displays notes
function appendNote(theElement,obj){
var newClassItem = make("input","class","tasknote");
theElement.appendChild(newClassItem);
when(newClassItem, "keypress", submitNote.bind(null, obj, newClassItem));
}
//function for submitting notes
function submitNote(task,noteInput){
if (event.key == "Enter" || event.keyCode == 13) {
task.Note = noteInput.value;
var newNote = make("div", "class", "hasNote", task.Note);
noteInput.parentNode.replaceChild(newNote, noteInput);
fadeIn(newNote);
when(newNote,"dblclick", function(){
newNote.parentNode.replaceChild(noteInput, newNote);
});
}
}
Being localStorage a key-value storage, depending on your needs, you are better off serializing (stringifying, whatever) the array and saving in a single index.
var tasks = [
'post the question on SO',
'describe it carefully',
'get a nice reply',
'implement the suggested solution'
];
If you really need to split it for performance reasons, you have to index them by a arbitrary index. If you have reordering it gets tricky and you can either reflush the whole set of tasks every time someone adds/edits/deletes/reorder the tasks (memory-efficient, but very CPU intensive) or save the indexes in a different key so you can reconstruct the order later, like:
var tasks = {
'task1': 'implement the suggested solution',
'task2': 'describe it carefully',
'task4': 'get a nice reply',
'task9': 'post the question on SO'
};
var tasksOrder = [9, 2, 4, 1];
The first idea is very simple to implement, but will give you problems with arbitrarily long lists, the second one is much more easy on the CPU but much harder to implement (and uses more memory). It depends on the specifics of your case.

How to connect between prototype chain of objects and HTML representing them?

I have a card game, and cards are represented by Javascript objects that are created as instances of class (card > card-type > card-instance). I did it like this so that the cards can share methods.
Then I construct the HTML, and the cards suppose to be able to do all kinds of stuff, like move or attack for example.
move is defined in Card.prototype.move = function... and attack is UnitCard.prototype.attack
and now I am trying to connect the Card objects to their corresponding HTML elements, so that I will be able to so something like
$('#board').on('click', '.card', function (e) {
this.move(this.location, newLocation);
});
An idea I had is to make all the data and functions of the cards part of the DOM, and insert an object somewhere along the prototype chain of the DOM elements, so that the HTML of that card will have a move function. I know this idea is a bit crazy, but I am trying to avoid constant lookups inside objects (find the clicked card by name in the array of all cards and then if other cards that have influence on the action find them in the dom and then find them in the object etc...)
Any suggestions on how to solve this issue?
UPDATE - Current Code:
var Card = function (type, name, epoch) {
var cardHtml = document.createElement('div');
cardHtml.className += "card";
cardHtml.id = name;
cardHtml.cardType = type;
cardHtml.cardName = name;
cardHtml.cardEpoch = epoch;
this.cardHtml = cardHtml;
}
var Agent = function (cardProps, subtype, description, strike, shield, price) {
//fixed
Card.apply(this, cardProps);
this.subtype = subtype;
this.price = price; //agenda
//changable
this.cardHtml.innerHTML = ss.tmpl['cards-agent'].render({
name: this.name,
});
this.cardHtml.strike = strike;
this.cardHtml.shield = shield;
this.cardHtml.location = []; //board/hand/deck/grveyard
}
Agent.prototype = Object.create(Card.prototype);
Agent.prototype.move = function (currentLocation, newLocarion) {
console.log('move');
}
Store a reference to the instance on the element's data object.
var Card = function (type, name, epoch) {
var cardHtml = document.createElement('div');
cardHtml.className += "card";
cardHtml.id = name;
cardHtml.cardType = type;
cardHtml.cardName = name;
cardHtml.cardEpoch = epoch;
this.cardHtml = cardHtml;
$(cardHtml).data("card",this);
}
Now you can access it within events as needed.
$('#board').on('click', '.card', function (e) {
var card = $(this).data('card');
card.move(card.location, newLocation);
});
This of course assumes you can use jquery, per the jquery you're using in your question.
I can think of two additional options.
You could use bind to create a click handler in which this is actually your object instead of the dom element.
el.onclick = (function(){/* ... */}).bind(yourObj);
In this case, within your function, this would be your object instead of the dom element. As long as your object stores a reference to the dom element itelf, then you're set.
Another option would be to define the click handler within a closure which has a variable containing the object.
function bindHanlder(yourObj, el){
el.onclick = function(){
// "yourObj" can be used here.
};
}
I assume that your board has specific places where your cards can be placed.
You should have a Board object containing an array of Places, something like:
function Card(divId){
this.divId = divId;
//generate Card html elements with jquery
}
function Place(divId){
var currentCard = null;
//attach this javascript object to an html element
this.divId = divId;
//register events of this Place where this Place has this.divId
/*
$(document).on("click", this.divId, function(){
});
*/
this.setCard = function(card){
currentCard = card;
//use jquery to add Card html elements to this Place html element
}
}
function Board(){
var places= new Array();
this.addPlace = function(place){
places.push(place);
}
this.moveCard = function(card, toPlace){
toPlace.setCard(card);
}
}
var card1 = new Card("#divCard1");
var card2 = new Card("#divCard2");
var place1 = new Place("#divPlace1");
var place2 = new Place("#divPlace2");
var board = new Board();
board.addPlace(place1);
board.addPlace(place2);
board.moveCards(card1,place1);
This is really off the top of my head. I don't even know if it runs or not. It's just to give you an idea. Interpret it as pseudo code.
Good luck!

JavaScript/jQuery variable scope in class (this)

I'm writing simple slider for my website. This slider contains list items. I want to use OOP approach.
My actual code:
var miniSlider = function(objId)
{
this.obj = $("#" + objId);
this.obj.settings = [];
this.obj.settings['items'] = $('ul li', this.obj).length;
this.pagerNext = this.obj.find("i.next");
this.pagerPrev = this.obj.find("i.prev");
this.pagerNext.on("click", function() {
alert(this.obj.settings['items']);
});
};
I can invoke a few other sliders (yes, that's why I introduced a class):
miniSlider("mini-slider");
The problem is that when I'm in jQuery this.pagerNext.on("click", function() { }); this is no longer my object but - it's become a clicked element. How can I access this.obj.settings after click in a well done way (and with multi sliders support)?
EDIT:
Here is a full code created with a cooperation with SOF community :)
var MiniSlider = function(objId)
{
this.obj = $("#" + objId);
this.obj.settings = {
items: $("ul li", this.obj).length,
autoChangeTime: 8000
};
this.obj.activeElement = null;
this.pagerNext = this.obj.find("i.next");
this.pagerPrev = this.obj.find("i.prev");
var self = this;
this.pagerNext.on("click", function() {
self.obj.activeElement = $('li.active', self.obj);
if(self.obj.settings.items > 0)
{
if(self.obj.activeElement.is(':last-child'))
{
$('li.active', self.obj).removeClass('active');
$('li', self.obj).first().addClass('active');
}
else
{
self.obj.activeElement.next().addClass('active').prev().removeClass('active');
}
}
});
this.pagerPrev.on("click", function()
{
self.obj.activeElement = $('li.active', self.obj);
if(self.obj.settings.items > 0)
{
if(self.obj.activeElement.is(':first-child'))
{
self.obj.activeElement.removeClass('active');
$('li', self.obj).last().addClass('active');
}
else
{
self.obj.activeElement.prev().addClass('active').next().removeClass('active');
}
}
});
this.obj.parent().on('mouseenter mouseleave', function(e) {
if (e.type == 'mouseenter')
{
$(this).addClass('stop');
}
else
{
$(this).removeClass('stop');
}
});
setInterval(function() {
if(self.obj.settings.items > 0 && !self.obj.parent().hasClass("stop"))
{
self.pagerNext.click();
}
}, this.obj.settings.autoChangeTime);
};
and invoke:
new MiniSlider("mini-slider");
Alex gave you the solution to the this problem in your callback, but there is another problem in your code.
You are calling the miniSlider() function without a new operator:
miniSlider("mini-slider");
That means that inside the function, this is not a unique object, but is actually the window object!
You need to use the new operator to create an individual object for each call:
new miniSlider("mini-slider");
But you should also change the name of this function to follow the JavaScript convention that constructors begin with a capital letter. Call it MiniSlider and use it like so:
new MiniSlider("mini-slider");
If you follow this convention (which most experienced JavaScript programmers do), it will help you remember when to use new. If the function begins with a capital letter, it's a constructor and you need to use new with it. Otherwise, you don't.
If you'd like to be able to use your constructor without new, that is also possible with a bit more code, e.g.:
function MiniSlider( objId ) {
if( this == window ) return new MiniSlider( objId );
// the rest of your constructor code goes here
}
But generally people don't bother with that and just use the initial capital letter on the constructor as a reminder to use new.
Also, as a suggestion, I like to use a meaningful name when I save this in a variable, and then I use that name consistently instead of using this at all. Doing it this way it might look like:
var miniSlider = function(objId) {
var slider = this;
slider.obj = $("#" + objId);
slider.obj.settings = [];
slider.obj.settings['items'] = $('ul li', slider.obj).length;
slider.pagerNext = slider.obj.find("i.next");
slider.pagerPrev = slider.obj.find("i.prev");
slider.pagerNext.on("click", function() {
alert(slider.obj.settings['items']);
});
};
Why do I prefer that approach over using this in most places and another variable like self where you need it? This way I don't have to remember which to use: I can always use slider in the code instead of this. (Of course you could use self or any other name; I just like to have a more meaningful name if I'm going to the trouble of making up a name at all.)
Another minor problem in the code is in these two statements:
slider.obj.settings = [];
slider.obj.settings['items'] = $('ul li', slider.obj).length;
You shouldn't use an Array when you are going to be giving it named properties like this. Use an Object instead. Arrays should only be used when you have numeric indexes like 0, 1, 2, etc. And with an object literal you can set the property at the same time:
slider.obj.settings = {
items: $('ul li', slider.obj).length
};
Also, when you use that property:
alert(slider.obj.settings['items']);
you can write it more simply as:
alert(slider.obj.settings.items);
Either way it does the same thing.
Save a reference to this in a local variable, and use that variable instead of this in the nested function.
var self = this;
this.pagerNext.on("click", function() {
alert(self.obj.settings['items']);
});

Difficulty developing unique dynamic onclick events in Javascript

I am working with a decent sized set of data relating to objects on the page and some objects need links applied to them onclick. The link to connect to is part of the dataset and I build a string for the link with the variable linkTarget and apply it like so.
if (dataTag[i][3]==true){
if(prepend==undefined || prepend=="undefined"){
var linkTarget=ResultsJSON["targetUrl"];
ele.onclick = function(){
window.open(linkTarget);
};
} else {
var linkTarget=prepend+ResultsJSON["targetUrl"];
ele.onclick = function(){
window.open(linkTarget);
};
}
ele refers to an element picked up with getElementByID. Now I am going through quite a few objects and the problem I have is the onclick for every object is the last value of linkTarget. This is all contained in a function and link target is a local variable so I have no idea why. I have tried using an array with something like
ele.onclick=function(){window.open(linkTarget[linkTarget.length-1]);};
and even
ele.onclick=function(){window.open(linkTarget.valueOf());};
with the same results. I am at a loss now and would appreciate any help.
Use Array.forEach() to iterate your data and watch your troubles melt away.
dataTag.forEach(function (item) {
if (item[3]==true) {
var linkTarget = "";
if (prepend==undefined || prepend=="undefined") {
linkTarget = prepend;
}
linkTarget += ResultsJSON.targetUrl;
ele.onclick = function () {
window.open(linkTarget);
};
}
});
See this compatibility note for using Array.forEach() in older browsers.
You're in a loop — therefore, you need to put your things-to-be-executed in another function, like so:
if(dataTag[i][3]) {
if(prepend) {
(function(linkTarget) {
ele.onclick = function() {
window.open(linkTarget);
};
})(ResultsJSON.targetUrl);
} else {
(function(linkTarget) {
ele.onclick = function() {
window.open(linkTarget);
};
})(ResultsJSON.targetUrl);
}
I also made some general corrections.

Unique html item ID in Javascript

I am building a drag'n'drop gui builder in Javascript. So far so good.
As I add items to the GUI and configure them; I have two mechanisms for addressing them:
the 'class' - which I use for doing things to all instances of an item (eg CSS, generic functionality and so on and so forth) and which I can bind javascript libraries to... and I can make full use of polymorphic class names (ie class="name1 name2 name3 name4" with different things bound to each class name...)
the 'id' - which refers to this particular instance of a text box or a paragraph and which I can bind javascript libraries to
My problem is this: the 'id' must be unique across all html items on the page (by definition) so how do I ensure this? I need to get all the id's of all the items and then maintain some sort of state table.
Starting from a blank bit of html this is pretty reasonable - but I need to start from a partly created bit of html with a mixture of existing 'id's - some of which will be in my unique scheme and some of which wont be...
The way to do this best ought to be a solved problem.
Suggestions, tips, examples?
The best way to do this will depend entirely upon the structure and organization of your javascript. Assuming that you are using objects to represent each of your GUI elements you could use a static counter to increment your ids:
// Your element constructor
function GuiElement() {
this.id = GuiElement.getID();
}
GuiElement.counter = 0;
GuiElement.getID = function() { return 'element_' + GuiElement.counter++; };
Of course you probably have more than one type of element, so you could either set each of them up so that they have their own counter (e.g. form_1, form_2, label_1, label_2) or so that they all share a counter (e.g. element_1, element_2, element_3), but either way you will probably want them to inherit from some base object:
// Your base element constructor
function GuiElement(tagName, className) {
this.tagName = tagName;
this.className = className;
}
GuiElement.counter = 0;
GuiElement.getID = function() { return 'element_' + GuiElement.counter++; };
GuiElement.prototype.init = function() {
this.node = document.createElement(this.tagName);
this.node.id = this.id = GuiElement.getID();
this.node.className = this.className;
}
// An element constructor
function Form() {
this.init();
}
Form.prototype = new GuiElement('form', 'form gui-element');
// Another element constructor
function Paragraph() {
this.init();
}
Paragraph.prototype = new GuiElement('p', 'paragraph gui-element');
You could also go this route if you would rather keep some variables "private":
// Your element constructor constructor
var GuiElement = (function() {
var counter = 0;
function getID() {
return 'element_' + counter++;
}
return function GuiElement(tagName, className) {
return function() {
this.node = document.createElement(tagName);
this.node.id = this.id = getID();
this.node.className = className + ' gui-element';
this.className = className;
};
}
})();
// Create your element constructors
var Form = GuiElement('form', 'form'),
Paragraph = GuiElement('p', 'paragraph');
// Instantiate elements
var f1 = new Form(),
f2 = new Form(),
p1 = new Paragraph();
Update: If you need to verify that an id is not already in use then you could add the check you and of the getID methods:
var counter = 0;
function getID() {
var id = 'element_' + counter++;
while(document.getElementById(id)) id = 'element_' + counter++;
return id;
}
function uniqueId() {
return 'id_' + new Date().getTime();
}
If you happen to be using the Prototype library (or want to check it out), you can use the Element.identify() method.
Otherwise, Darin's response is a good idea as well.
function generateId() {
var chars = "0123456789abcdefghiklmnopqrstuvwxyz",
string_length = 8,
id = '';
for (var i = 0; i < string_length; i++) {
var rnum = Math.floor(Math.random() * chars.length);
id += chars.substring(rnum, rnum + 1);
}
return id;
}
Close enough to unique is good enough. Don't use the Date() solution unless you're only generating a single ID at any given time...

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