ajax_clean.js

//You should use the [XHR Object][1], aka the "AJAX" method.
//[Here's an overview][2] as to how to start using it.
//Here's an excerpt:
//  [1]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/DOM/XMLHttpRequest
//  [2]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/AJAX
  

function makeRequest(url, callback) {
  if (window.XMLHttpRequest) { // Mozilla, Safari, ...
    httpRequest = new XMLHttpRequest();
  }
  //i'd omit this if I don't support older browsers
  else if (window.ActiveXObject) { // IE
    try {
      httpRequest = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
    } catch (e) {
      try {
        httpRequest = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
      } catch (e) {}
    }
  }
  if (!httpRequest) {
    alert('Giving up :( Cannot create an XMLHTTP instance');
    return false;
  }
  httpRequest.onreadystatechange = function () {
    if (httpRequest.readyState === 4 && httpRequest.status === 200) {
      callback(httpRequest.responseText);
    } else {
      alert('There was a problem with the request.');
    }
  }
  httpRequest.open('GET', url);
  httpRequest.send();
}
//using
makeRequest('path/to/your/file', function (contents) {
  myList.push(contents);
});