Javascript meets php meets mysql

[Anon]

Ok this didn't fit neatly anywhere else so I stuck it in the general forum.

I'm trying to produce a page with two drop down menus and a load of text fields and I want it to (basically) do the following:

Initially the text fields are empty.

Drop down menu one is filled with option which are the result of a select on a table in my db.

Drop down menu two is field with data from a select on a different table.

On selecting an option in drop down one, I want the contents to change in drop down two; to reflect only the records where a field matches a field in a record shown in drop down one.
On selecting an option in drop down two I want the text fields to show the data relevant to that record.

Has anybody ever done this before? Help, Help, Help.

Nick Gushlow

[Anon]

Well... hmm...
php is server executed, so if you wanted to update something on a page that involves php code, you'd have to refresh the entire page.

Javascript is client executed. So, you'd have to use javascript to update something on a page without a reload.

So... what you could do is load all the information you need from php/mysql into javascript variables, at page load time. Then just use javascript to do everything else.

Maybe you could generate all the menus possible at page load, but use javascript to keep track of whihc menu it should be using at the time?

[Anon]

That was the plan, my php is, my javascript, is well, non-existent. I

figured that I will need to load the results from my MySQL query into javascript arrays that will mirror the two php arrays.

[Anon]

Some times ago I've done some javascript that dinamically changed items on a second menu based on the choise made on the first one. But it was all client side with no select query involved.
I think that you could follow this way, pulling out the data from php created javascript arrays, only if the total amount of data of the two menus and text fields is not very big. I fear this is not your case...
Alternatevely you could turn to using nested frames: menu1 is on main frame and has an "onChange" handler that loads frame 2 which contains menu2 passing to it the value corresponding to the selected item; finally menu2 in a similar way loads the last frame with all the text fields.
Just try to be more precise, may be with an example of what you need and I'll try to help if I can.

bye

[Anon]

well, you may see this in action at url
http://www.megavale.com.br/php/frmpesquisaoferta.php3

the combo interaction is used. the javascript code to made this is easy

Fernando F Torres
[e-mail]
Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

[Anon]

Antonio,

You are indeed right, the amount of data is going to be huge. Basically I am creating a user management screen for a database.

Drop down menu one, represents companies, drop down menu two represents, employees, and the table will show data for that employee.

I was originally going to have one drop down, but then it would be huge!!

Fernando,

That page appears to be exactly what I want, I would guess that the javascript arrays you are using are loaded from mysql via php.

Could I possibly have a look at your code?

-- Nick

[Anon]

Here's what I would suggest:

You have the form which initially includes only the first select list. It looks like this:

<form action="the_next_page.php" method=POST>
<select name="list_1" onChange="listChanged();">etc.</select>

function listChanged() {
var f = document.forms[0];
f.action = "this_page_again.php";
f.submit();
}

In the php page which makes this form, you check to see if you have any input. If you do, you put the text fields back into the form, and you show the second select list based on the choice made in the first.

That way you do go back to the server, so you don't have to send all of your data to the client, but you keep the existing form data also.

-Keegan

[Anon]

Thanks Keegan, that's definitely the solution.

My only concern here would be the delay in having to go back to the server on each selection.

The reason I wanted to use javascript, is to keep everything client side. My concern isn't the amount of data I would have to load, it's making this data accessible easily by categorising it, whilst making the whole process seem like one action.

Sorry.