Trouble with AJAX and PHP

Tetz

I am having an issue with AJAX posting data to PHP and I can't for the life of me figure out what the problem is.

Here is the section of code dealing with the xmlhttprequest...

if(str != null && str.length > 0) {
var http = new XMLHttpRequest();
var site = 'URL here';
var strContent = 'text='+escape(str);
http.open('POST', site, true);
http.onreadystatechange = ReadyStateChange;
http.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8");
http.send(strContent);
}

The problem I am having is this does not seem to be doing anything. I am not receiving any javascript errors, but at the same time the database does not appear to be updating either. When the string comes into php am I correct in thinking that it should originally come in as...

$_POST['text']

That is how I am expecting the text to arrive into my php file but nothing changes in my database. I am not great with javascript, and totally new to AJAX but it was the only javascript that I know of that will submit data to php.

If anyone has any help or tips on this I would appreciate it, I've spent the last 3 days trying various codes from the net and they all do the same thing.

Is there something I need to initialize in PHP to read the xmlhttprequest? Perhaps it is as simple as that and I am working on trying to fix an issue that doesn't exist.

Thanks.

konsu

is the php page being hit at all?

Tetz

I was concerned about that too, I downloaded the live headers extension for firefox and compared the javascript page with an html page that I previously had and both are pointing to the correct php page and sending the same data.

My only guess is that the xmlhttprequest is working properly but there is something not working correctly in php but I am not sure what that would be.

One thing I did notice and I am not sure if this has anything to do with it... when the data is submitted through html the spaces in the string are converted to +, so for instance...

First+Last

Where as in the xml it is using the html code for the space %20.

Would php treat these two differently? If so perhaps the parsing in php is where the problem is and I just need to modify the scripts.

konsu

from your response i assume that the php page indeed receives the request. right? if so, could you just echo the global variables ($SERVER, $REQUEST) and see what is being passed? also, do you have an http traffic tracer of some sort that would allow you to capture http traffic and see what is being sent?

LoganK

Hello! Boy am I glad to find this thread (look at my title)!

What browser are you using?

Tetz

Well to let you know I am actually working on creating a firefox extension and part of the extension is to submit data back to a database to update records. So the only place the xmlhttprequest will run is on a firefox browser.

As far as being able to see what is being submitted, no I do not. The only thing I have done is installed the live headers and seen what was being submitted there but that is it.

A couple things too... I know this does work because I am re-designing an extension that is already being used that does the same thing. I was originally concerned since i read that AJAX only works on the same domain since the javascript is local I guess that changes things.

LoganK

(I read your post; I'll reply later)

(just letting you know you're not forgotten 😃)

vaaaska

Tetz wrote:
Well to let you know I am actually working on creating a firefox extension and part of the extension is to submit data back to a database to update records. So the only place the xmlhttprequest will run is on a firefox browser.

A couple things too... I know this does work because I am re-designing an extension that is already being used that does the same thing. I was originally concerned since i read that AJAX only works on the same domain since the javascript is local I guess that changes things.

Be sure you read up on the problems that the GreaseMonkey extension for Firefox is having...it's an XMLhttprequest issue and very, very serious...

LoganK

True, that was all over the news and /. this morning.

Sorry, but since my AJAX coding is within browsers, not extensions, I don't know how the rules would apply. I do know that AJAX can only be used to query files on the server you're currently on.

Plus I've never written a Firefox extension before; I don't even know what language they're in, I just d/l and use them 😃

Tetz

All firefox extensions are just basic javascript coding with an XUL wrapper for the interface. Everything is javascript though for the actual extension.

I will read up on the extension issue. It would be a private extension, not something available to the public but if there is a possible issue I will check on it.

LoganK

Really? I never knew that. I'll need to take a look more at this XUL language which you speak of.

Oh great. I'm speaking like 16th century England. "Anyone for more tea? No, just me then?" 😃

I'll take a look more into Firefox extensions and how the JS applies, and I may be able to help you. Stay tuned 🙂

LoganK

AJAX link:
http://www.devarticles.com/c/a/JavaScript/Programmatic-POST-Requests-with-JavaScript-Automated-Form-Submissions