Can't do the CakePHP autocomplete tutorial - php

Question

In CakePHP, I am trying to create a autocomplete function from a textbox, using this tutorial: http://bakery.cakephp.org/articles/matt_1/2011/08/07/yet_another_jquery_autocomplete_helper_2
I keep getting a
Error: AutoCompleteHelper could not be found.
Undefined index: autoCompleteText
I am unsure how to fix this as I have tried relocating the files and still the same error.
I create the below files and copy the code from the tutorial,
create the auto_complete.php in the view/helpers directory,
and create webroot/js/views/helpers/auto_complete.js.
controller - Tests
function auto_complete
class TestsController extends AppController {
public $helpers = array('Html', 'Form', 'Session','Js','AutoComplete');
public function auto_complete() {
$this->loadModel('Tutor');
debug( $this->params);
$terms = $this->Tutor->find('all', array(
'conditions' => array(
'Tutor.first_name LIKE' => $this->params['url']['autoCompleteText'].'%'
),
'fields' => array('Tutor.first_name'),
'limit' => 3,
'recursive'=>-1,
));
$terms = Set::Extract($terms,'{n}.Tutor.first_name');
$this->set('terms', $terms);
$this->layout = '';
}
view
auto_complete.ctp
<?php
echo $this->AutoComplete->input(
'Tutor.first_name',
array(
'autoCompleteUrl'=>$this->Html->url(
array(
'controller'=>'tests',
'action'=>'auto_complete',
)
),
'autoCompleteRequestItem'=>'autoCompleteText',
)
);
if(isset($terms)) {
echo $this->Js->object($terms);
}
echo $this->Form->create('');
echo $this->Form->input('type', array('label' => 'Choose' ));
echo $this->Form->end('send');
?>
I had a good look around previous posts and I really couldnt solve the problem.
Cakephp form input with autocomplete

Answer 1

The tutorial you're looking at is for CakePHP 1.x (it's from August 2011, Cake 2 came out in October '11), but you're running Cake 2.5. The naming standards have changed between 1.x and 2.x, so Cake can't see your helper.
First: Your main problem is that you're naming your helper auto_complete.php when it should be AutoCompleteHelper.php.
Second, you are placing it in the wrong directory. In Cake 1.x, helpers lived under /view/helpers/. In 2.x, they live under /View/Helper/.
Third, regarding the undefined index error, you need to understand how this helper works in the first place, and why you're implementing it incorrectly.
The controller action auto_complete should not have a view. It's just a data source. When you use the helper, it loads the Javascript, which does its magic by polling /auto_complete?autoCompleteText=stringgoeshere.
You might notice that you removed $this->layout = 'ajax'; from the controller action, probably because your toolbars weren't rendering. They weren't supposed to. It's just a datasource, it NEEDS the ajax layout, and there should be no view on that action.
Because you were trying to put a form on your auto_complete action and not on another action, the helper was looking for the query parameter autoCompleteText, not finding it, and displaying an error.
You can solve this by changing the auto_complete action back as close as possible to how it was in the example, deleting auto_complete.ctp, and by trying to use the helper in the correct view, like add.ctp.
Fourth: You shouldn't be using jsHelper anymore. It's been deprecated in 2.5 and is going to disappear in the future. Basically, the tutorial is obsolete.
However, it's really easy to just replace $this->set('terms', $terms); with return json_encode($terms) and write your own piece of JS to make an AJAX call. I suggest incorporating Typeahead.js.
Finally: You should consult the 1.x -> 2.x migration guide, and as well, once you get your helper running you've got some other typos in your code that will break it anyway- "Ttuor.first_name", for example. Good luck!