Checking and changing

I need a quick solution for this ASAP please!

[adni18]

Is there a way in JScript to:

1) Check if a random number is already located in a string, with "¦" on either side of it
2) If it's not located there, then choose another random number
3) If there is no random number other than the ones listed, then execute the alert function.

I need help with this really badly, so please respond ASAP!

[Bernard Marx]

How about choosing a number from the string at random?
-I say this because I don't understand #3

[pre]
Array.prototype.getRandom = function(start, stop)
{
 start = start¦¦0; stop = stop¦¦this.length;
 return this[ start + Math.floor( Math.random()*(stop-start) ) ];
}
numbers = "14¦45¦78";
rand = numbers.split('¦').getRandom() 
[/pre]

[adni18]

nonono. It's like this:

It gets a random number, and if the random number has already been chosen and placed in the string by a previous script, then it chooses another random number.

[Rambo Tribble]

Will there be any other instances within the string of the pipe symbol, "¦"? If not you could simply split on ¦ and check the second array value (var_arr[1]) for its numericity, uhh, numericality, unh, would you believe . . . unh, numberness?

Obviously, more devious versions of the above could also be applied if there were more than one numeric value, but each was in a fixed relation to the pipe symbols and other string content.

You might wish to investigate parseInt() and parseFloat() in conjunction with isNaN() if you wish to test strings for numeric value or quality contained therein.

I'll leave the randomness to Bernard.

[Emperor]

Just put it in a while loop until you get a fresh number. I would code it for you right now but I still don't understand what you are having problems with or even trying to do (like rule 3.)

Take care.
Cyrus

[adni18]

Number three means that if I have specified a random number as any number between -1 and 5 [Math.floor(Math.random()*5)], and 0,1,2,3, and 4 have already been taken, then alert()