Create a unique number with javascript time

Question

I need to generate unique id numbers on the fly using javascript. In the past, I\'ve done this by creating a number using time. The number would be made up of the four digi

Answer 1

If you just want a unique-ish number, then

var timestamp = new Date().getUTCMilliseconds();

would get you a simple number. But if you need the readable version, you're in for a bit of processing:

var now = new Date();

timestamp = now.getFullYear().toString(); // 2011
timestamp += (now.getMonth < 9 ? '0' : '') + now.getMonth().toString(); // JS months are 0-based, so +1 and pad with 0's
timestamp += ((now.getDate < 10) ? '0' : '') + now.getDate().toString(); // pad with a 0
... etc... with .getHours(), getMinutes(), getSeconds(), getMilliseconds()