25/08/2020 JavaScript Math.

random() Method Explained

JavaScript
Math.random()
Method Explained

Random Method
The JavaScript  Math.random()  method is an excellent built-in method

for producing random numbers. When  Math.random()  is executed, it

returns a random number that can be anywhere between 0 and 1. The

0 is included and 1 is excluded.

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Generating a random
floating point number
between 0 and 1
The  Math.random()  method will return a floating point (decimal)

number greater than or equal to 0 and less than (but never equal to) 1.

In other words  0 <= x < 1 . For example:

console.log(Math.random());
// 0.7069207248635578

console.log(Math.random());
// 0.765046694794209

console.log(Math.random());
// 0.14069121642698246

(Of course, the numbers returned will be different every time. This will

be assumed for all following examples - different results will happen on

each pass.)
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To get a random number between a larger range multiply the result of  M

ath.random()  by a number.

Generating a random
floating point number
between 0 and a
specified max
Usually you do not need random numbers between 0 and 1 - you need

larger numbers or even integers.

For example, if you want a random floating point number between 0

and 10, you could use:

var x = Math.random()*10;

console.log(x);
// 4.133793901445541

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Generating a random
floating point number
within a range
If you need a random floating point number that ranges between two

specific numbers, you could do something like this:

var min = 83.1;

var max = 193.36;

var x = Math.random()*(max - min)+min;

console.log(x);
// 126.94014012699063

Generating a random
integer between 0 and
a max
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25/08/2020 JavaScript Math.random() Method Explained

Often you need integers. To do this you will have to use some other

methods from the  Math  object,  Math.floor()  (rounds down to the

nearest integer) and  Math.ceil()  (rounds up to the nearest integer).

For example, if you need to select randomly from an array of 10

elements, you would need a random number between 0 and 9 inclusive

(remember that arrays are zero indexed).

var x = Math.floor(Math.random()*10);

console.log(x);
// 7

(Remember that  Math.random()  will never return exactly 1, so  Math.ra

ndom()*10  will never return exactly 10. This means that after rounding

down, the result will always be 9 or less.)

Generating a random
integer between 1 and
a max
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25/08/2020 JavaScript Math.random() Method Explained

If you need a random number with the minimum number being 1 (for

example picking a random day in January) you could use the  Math.cei

l()  method.

var x = Math.ceil(Math.random()*31);

console.log(x);
// 23

Another way would have been to use the previous function (using  Mat

h.floor() ) and add 1 to it:

var x = Math.floor(Math.random()*31)+1;

console.log(x);
// 17

Generating a random
integer within a range
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25/08/2020 JavaScript Math.random() Method Explained

Lastly, occasionally you need a random integer between two specific

integers. For example, if you are trying to pick raffle tickets and you

know the numbers of the lowest and largest number:

var min = 1718;

var max = 3429;

var x = Math.floor(Math.random()*(max-min+1)+min);

console.log(x);
//2509

How random is
Math.random()?
It may be pointed out that the number returned by  Math.random() is a

pseudo-random number as no computer can generate a truly random

number, that exhibits randomness over all scales and over all sizes of

data sets. However, the pseudo-random number generated by  Math.ra

ndom()  is usually sufficient for the needs of nearly any program you

may write. The not-truly-randomness only becomes apparent in

astronomically large number sets or

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25/08/2020 JavaScript Math.random() Method Explained
astronomically large number sets or when uncommonly precise

decimals are needed.

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