return with javascript

[jeancnicolas]

Hello,

I wish to make a variable which is a function that returns a random number when run.

for simple simon's sake, here is a silly example ..

var ran = function(){
   Math.random()*1;
   return;
}

console.log(ran); // gives me my random number
AND
console.log(ran+" "+ran); // gives me two different random numbers

Can someone help my syntax!?
Thanks

[kadaj]

var ran = function () {
    return Math.random();
}

Have a look at this tutorial: Random Numbers in JavaScript

[ironikart]

Can someone help my syntax!?

Further to jeancnicolas' example you need to use the brackets () to invoke the function:

var ran = function(){
   return Math.random()*1;
}

console.log(ran()); // gives me my random number
AND
console.log(ran()+" "+ran()); // gives me two different random numbers

I wish to make a variable which is a function that returns a random number when run.

There are a few things to keep in mind with the random number generator in JavaScript in that it's not truly random and if you are intending on using it where you want to be able to seed your own random numbers you can't (JavaScript seeds it's own random generator with the current time).

Further reading:
http://blog.ginchen.de/en/2010/10/09...ll-keiner-ist/
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1...ts-math-random

There are a few implementations I've seen for the Mersenne Twister algorithm if you need a number that is more truly random.