How does JQuery work with files

Question

Can JQuery/JavaScript read/get the file content on the client side, where the file is an image or a text, and store it in a variable?

EDIT: can the file putted in the be handled on the client??

Answer 1

This isn't possible, for obvious reasons once you think about the possible uses:

$(function() { //This doesn't work, just an example
  $.getFile("C:\YourPasswords.txt");
});

I'm sure that wouldn't be abused at all :)

Answer 2

No, javascript or any javascript library is not able to read contents from disk clientside.

You would have to use an external plugin wich allows for that such as Java.