How can I send an array to Codeigniter with jQuery AJAX - php

Question

I have an array of marks of students :
<span>Teacher Name : </span> <input id="teacher" type="text">
<span>Course Name : </span> <input id="course" type="text">
<table id="students_list">
<tr>
<td><span>George</span></td>
<td><input class="mark-field" type="text" id="1105"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span>Danny</span></td>
<td><input class="mark-field" type="text" id="1351"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span>Linda</span></td>
<td><input class="mark-field" type="text" id="3486"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span>Mario</span></td>
<td><input class="mark-field" type="text" id="9032"/></td>
</tr>
…
</table>
<button id="save_marks">SAVE</button>
I use this method to create an array with JQUERY and send it to server :
$(document).on('click', '#save_marks', function () {
var dataArray = [];
var i = 1;
$('.mark-field').each(function () {
dataArray[i] = {
'teacher' : $('#teacher').val(),
'course' : $('#course').val(),
'mark' : $(this).val(),
'id' : $(this).attr('id')
};
i++;
});
dataArray[0] = i;
$.ajax({
url: 'save-marks',
data: {dataset: dataArray},
type: 'post',
success: function (res) {
alert(res);
}
});
});
and use this way to change it to PHP (CodeIgniter) array and save it on database :
public function save_marks() {
$arrayLength = $this->input->post('data')[0];
for ($i = 1; $i < $arrayLength; $i++) {
$arr[] = array(
'TEACHERS' => $this->input->post('dataset')[$i]['teacher'],
'COURSES' => $this->input->post('dataset')[$i]['course'],
'MARKS' => $this->input->post('dataset')[$i]['mark'],
'ID' => $this->input->post('dataset')[$i]['id']
);
}
$this->db->insert_batch('marks_table', $arr);
die($this->db->affected_rows() . ' marks were saved.');
}
Now my questions :
Is there another way to calculate array length on the server side?
Is it a good way to build an array both on the server side and on the client side?
and if no
Is there another way to create and send them to the server?
Thanks.

Answer 1

1. Is there another way to calculate array length on the server side?
Yes, by using sizeof($array), you can get the array length of the array.
2. Is it a good way to build an array both on the server side and on the client side?
Using name="mark-field[]" you can send the mark list without manually construct it in your javascript, also by using sizeof($array) you can get array size in the server side without sending the size from your javascript.
3. Is there another way to create and send them to the server?
Personally, I would do something like this:
<form id = "form_data" method="post">
<span>Teacher Name : </span> <input id="teacher" name="teacher" type="text">
<span>Course Name : </span> <input id="course" name="course" type="text">
<table id="students_list">
<tr>
<td><span>George</span></td>
<td>
<input name="mark[]" type="text" id="1105"/>
<input name="mark_id[]" type="hidden" value="1105"/>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span>Danny</span></td>
<td>
<input name="mark[]" type="text" id="1351"/>
<input name="mark_id[]" type="hidden" value="1351"/>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span>Linda</span></td>
<td>
<input name="mark[]" type="text" id="3486"/>
<input name="mark_id[]" type="hidden" value="3486"/>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<button id="save_marks">SAVE</button>
</form>
and the javascript part
$(document).on('submit', '#form_data', function (event) {
event.preventDefault();
var data = new FormData(this);
$.ajax({
//fill url with your controller name
url:"<?php echo base_url(); ?>controllername/save_marks",
method:"POST",
data: data,
async: false,
processData: false,
contentType: false,
cache:false,
dataType:"json",
success:function(returndata)
{
//do something with your returned data
},
error: function (xhr, ajaxOptions, thrownError) {
console.log(xhr.status);
console.log(thrownError);
}
});
});
and in your controller:
public function save_marks() {
$teacher= $this->input->post('teacher',true);
$course= $this->input->post('course',true);
//mark & mark_id is an array
$mark= $this->input->post('mark',true);
$mark_id= $this->input->post('mark_id',true);
$arr = array();
foreach($mark_id as $key => $row)
{
$arr[] = array(
'TEACHERS' => $teacher,
'COURSES' => $course,
'MARKS' => $mark[$key],
'ID' => $row
);
}
$this->db->insert_batch('marks_table', $arr);
//die($this->db->affected_rows() . ' marks were saved.');
echo json_encode($arr);
}
By sending formdata, you wont need to manually construct the array, however since you need to send the mark_id to the controller, you need to add 1 more field to send the mark_id