Question

Using Javascript or jQuery, how can I check if an external link is available?

An $.ajax() call is not available as it violates SOP (same problem as here). I have read about JSONP, but I would like to know if there is a more straight solution, as I don’t want to load any data from the external server; what I need is only to check if it is reachable.

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EDIT (answer)

I solved it with the following code:

$.ajax({url: 'http://www.example.com',
        type: 'GET',
        dataType: 'jsonp',
        complete: function(jqXHR, textStatus) {
                console.log(jqXHR.status);  // '200' = url reachable
        },
        timeout: 2000
});

The only problem now is that I get a Parse error, but in any case it can be checked if the external link is working.

Answer 1

You could use YQL to check if a URL is available via its JSONP interface.

YQL Console.