Here are two compact code sequences to generate the N-element array [0, 1, ..., N-1]:

Solution 1 (requires ES5)

Array.apply(null, {length: N}).map(Function.call, Number);

Brief explanation

  1. Array.apply(null, {length: N}) returns an N-element array filled with undefined (i.e. A = [undefined, undefined, ...]).
  2. A.map(Function.call, Number) returns an N-element array, whose index I gets the result of Function.call.call(Number, undefined, I, A)
  3. Function.call.call(Number, undefined, I, A) collapses into Number(I), which is naturally I.
  4. Result: [0, 1, ..., N-1].

For a more thorough explanation, go here.

Solution 2 (requires ES6)

It uses Array.from https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/from

Array.from(new Array(N),(val,index)=>index);

Solution 3 (requires ES6)

Array.from(Array(N).keys());

Brief explanation

  1. A = new Array(N) returns an array with N holes (i.e. A = [,,,...], but A[x] = undefined for x in 0...N-1).
  2. F = (val,index)=>index is simply function F (val, index) { return index; }
  3. Array.from(A, F) returns an N-element array, whose index I gets the results of F(A[I], I), which is simply I.
  4. Result: [0, 1, ..., N-1].

One More Thing

If you actually want the sequence [1, 2, …, N], Solution 1 becomes:

Array.apply(null, {length: N}).map(function(value, index){
  return index + 1;
});

and Solution 2:

Array.from(new Array(N),(val,index)=>index+1);