Writing to a text file using Javascript

Question

I want to write to a text file using javascript. I know that it is possible but there are some problems.

I am running a javascript program that calculates the location of an object (its latitude & longitude) which changes every 5 seconds; i want to write this information to a text file. The javascript program will soon run on a server and I'll use the information written to the text file to communicate with an Android app on my phone.

So, my question really is:

How can it be done properly?

I know that there may be some permission issues but considering it won't be online and available to others will it be a problem and, if it is, should I go with PHP to do what I want? I know ASP is more Microsoft orientated and I work with a Mac so PHP would be the preference here.
When writing a file, is it possible to write to an existing file or does the process simply destroy and recreate the same file?

So... node.js? Otherwise, JavaScript doesn't really run on the server. — Ry-
– Ry- ♦, Commented Feb 9, 2012 at 23:19
javascript on the client side (browser) or server side (e.g. with node.js)? — Hamish
– Hamish, Commented Feb 9, 2012 at 23:20
I think you might want to clarify your question. If the JavaScript programme is running on the server then you'll need to be running a JS engine there (probably Node), which would remove the need for a second server side language (such as PHP or one that is ASP compatible) — Quentin
– Quentin, Commented Feb 9, 2012 at 23:20
You should specify in which environment your JS is running. Browsers or server-side JS environments like node.js — raphinesse
– raphinesse, Commented Feb 9, 2012 at 23:20
If it isn't "online" then where is it? Are you planning a server-client app with both server and client running on a local network? Or is the entire thing running on the phone? (In which case, why is there a server involved?) — Quentin
– Quentin, Commented Feb 9, 2012 at 23:21

SSH This · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-10 17:31:51Z

3

I would use PHP

http://www.php.net/

This has a good code example:

http://www.tizag.com/phpT/filewrite.php

Also, you can make the request using jQuery's AJAX function, this will allow to effectively run this code from javascript:

http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.ajax/

edited Feb 10, 2012 at 17:31

answered Feb 9, 2012 at 23:21

SSH This

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2 Comments

Quentin Over a year ago

I'm of the opinion that the question is too unclear to say if PHP might be appropriate or not … but even if it wasn't, this answer ignores most of the specific queries in it.

SSH This Over a year ago

Duly noted, I added some further information, hopefully this will help

Muhammad Abrar · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-09 23:23:34Z

2

Using the latest HTML5 Javascript, you can use the FileSystem APIs to read/write/append to text files. This is a good tutorial here : Exploring the FileSystem APIs.

answered Feb 9, 2012 at 23:23

Muhammad Abrar

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1 Comment

Quentin Over a year ago

There's been no mention of HTML being involved. The question talks about a server and an Android application.

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