javascript - Using AJAX to read local files

Question

I'm a novice to AJAX and just want to confirm: if I have all my code in a folder on my desktop and I am using AJAX to output file content in a div in HTML, is it possible to access local files through AJAX or file should have to be on server?

I am just testing AJAX functionality for the first time and i am facing problem as its showing error "Access denied " in .js file

Answer 1

For security reasons JavaScript's access to the file system on the client is restricted - consider whether you would want (somebody else's) JavaScript to read your sensitive documents.

Even when experimenting it's best to work with a realistic topology, serve things from the server that would be served from there in the real system.

It's really easy to set up a web server such as Apache to point to your development directory, so the "server" is just your desktop in disguise. Hence the edit/test cycle is really quick.