JavaScript button click event not working properly

Other Questions JavaScript
1

I’m having trouble with my JavaScript code. When I press the button, nothing happens at all. The program is supposed to count how many attempts the computer needs to guess the number I enter in the input field.

I’m working in Adobe Dreamweaver and can’t figure out what’s going wrong. Here’s my code:

<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Number Guessing Game</title>
</head>
<body>
    <p>Pick a number from 1-6:</p>
    <input id="userInput" type="text" />
    <button id="startGame">Begin Game</button>
    
    <script>
    document.getElementById('startGame').onclick = function() {
        var targetNumber = document.getElementById('userInput').value;
        var foundMatch = false;
        var attemptCount = 0;
        
        while(foundMatch == false) {
            var computerGuess = Math.random();
            computerGuess = computerGuess * 6;
            computerGuess = Math.floor(computerGuess) + 1;
            
            if(computerGuess == targetNumber) {
                foundMatch = true;
                alert("Computer found your number!");
                alert("It took " + attemptCount + " attempts");
            } else {
                attemptCount += 1;
            }
        }
    }
    </script>
</body>
</html>

Any ideas what might be causing this issue? The button doesn’t seem to trigger anything when clicked.

2

Yeah, it’s the string comparison issue, but you’ve got another problem too. You’re incrementing attemptCount after the else, so a first-try win shows 0 attempts instead of 1. Move that increment to the top of your while loop right after the opening brace. Also, add validation to make sure users enter 1-6 before starting - otherwise you’ll get stuck in an infinite loop if someone enters 0 or a letter.

3

Yeah, it’s the string vs number comparison like everyone said, but here’s another thing - that while loop can run forever if someone picks 6. Pure random chance means you might get unlucky and freeze the browser. I’ve seen it happen. Throw in a max attempt limit or use setTimeout for a small delay so the browser doesn’t lock up. Test it hard too - I had a project that looked fine until I hit edge cases that killed performance.

4

hey! your code looks good, but try wrapping parseInt() around userInput.value - input fields always return strings. so: var targetNumber = parseInt(document.getElementById('userInput').value);. without it, you’re comparing a string to a number and they won’t match.

5

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