Sending json to symfony controller - php

Question

I need to pass json data to my Symfony Controller. My ajax function looks like this:
var data = '{"firstname":"John"}';
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: save_url, //path to controller action
data: {json:data},
success: function(response) {
// Do something
}
});
In my controller, I try to get my data through:
public function createAction(Request $request) {
$data = $this->getRequest()->get('firstname');
return $this->render('MyBundle:Counter:test.html.twig', array(
'data' => $data
));
Just to see if this works, I send $data to be echoed in a template. In Firebug I can see the data being sent and everything seems to work, but $data is empty and nothing is echoed. Where am I doing this wrong?
EDIT: When I check the response in Fireburg console, I see my data there, in place, but it never appears in the template. var_dump($data) tells that $data is null. So, it seems data is being sent but the controller ignores it.

Answer 1

As Marek noticed:
$this->getRequest()
already returns the request object, you're accessing the request property of the request, that doesn't add up. Either try:
$data = $this->request->get('json');
Or use:
$data = $this->getRequest()->get('json');
You can, of course assign the return value of $this->getRequest() to a variable, and call the get method on that var from there on end... anyway, here's my initial answer, it does contain some more tips, and considerations you may find useful:
You should be able to get the data this way, though AJAX requests + echoing in a template? That does sound a bit strange. I don't see you passing the $data variable to a $this->render call anywhere.
This is a copy-paste bit from a controller action in one of my projects. It works just fine there:
public function indexAction()
{
if (!$this->getRequest()->isXmlHttpRequest())
{//check if request is AJAX request, if not redirect
return $this->redirect(
$this->generateUrl('foo_bar_homepage')//changed this, of course
);
}
$id = $this->getRequest()->get('id',false);//works fine
However, I can't begin to grasp why you're doing this:
var data = '{"firstname":"John"}';
Why not simply go for:
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: url,//post how you get this URL please...
data: {firstname: 'John'},//jQ will sort this out for you
success: function(response)
{
console.log(response);
}
error: function()
{
console.log('an error occured');
console.log(arguments);//get debugging!
}
});
Then, in your controller you're able to:
$this->getRequest()->get('firstname');//it should be John
You could even pass {json:{firstname: 'john'}} as the data param to $.ajax, the only difference in your controller will be, that you have to do this:
$data = $this->getRequest()->get('json');
$firstName = $data['firstname'];
That should work just fine, unless there's somthing you're not telling us :)
RECAP:
This is what I'd write:
public function createAction()
{//no Request param in controller
if (!$this->getRequest()->isXmlHttpRequest())
{//no ajax request, no play...
$this->redirect(
$this->generateUrl('homepage_route')
);
}
$data = $this->getRequest()->get('firstname');
//return json response:
return new Response(json_encode(array('dataReceived' => $data));
//return rendered HTML page:
return $this->render('MyBundle:Counter:test.html.twig', array(
'data' => $data
));
}
Of course, then the JS code should read:
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: 'route/to/create'
data: {firstname:'John'},
success: function(response)
{
console.log(response);
}
});
I have tested this, and I see no reason why this shouldn't work. It works just fine for me...

Answer 2

Please note this was #EliasVanOotegem original example but there are some obvious steps missing
in the controller i'm reading a few replies as in "I cannot see how this works as i'm getting null" this is because your not correctly keying your object.
i.e.
var data = { name : 'john' };
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: url,//post how you get this URL please...
data: {json : data},//jQ will sort this out for you
success: function(response)
{
console.log(response);
}
error: function()
{
console.log('an error occured');
console.log(arguments);//get debugging!
}
});
as you can now see accessing the requerst object like
$request->get('json');
refers to the post key for the json data

Answer 3

Is the content what you're trying to retrieve, neither params nor headers.
Try:
$request->getContent();

Answer 4

In your case $request->request->get('json') should do.