Nothing's in $_POST. Is there something wrong with my code? - php

Question

I am fairly new to JavaScript and PHP, and it's the first time to encounter and use JSON. I think my AJAX request is fine, but even so, the $_POST array is empty.
Here is the AJAX call:
$( "#submit" ).click( function() {
var submit_basic = $.post( 'index.php/submit_data/pass_basic_data',
get_experience_data()
);
submit_basic.done( function(data) {
alert(data); // for debugging purposes
});
});
And this is the function that takes the data from a table:
function get_experience_data() {
var temp, data_exp = [];
$( "#exptable tbody tr" ).each( function() {
temp = {
company: $(this).find('td').eq(0).html(),
position: $(this).find('td').eq(1).html(),
datestart: $(this).find('td').eq(2).html(),
dateend: $(this).find('td').eq(3).html(),
description: $(this).find('td').eq(4).html()
};
data_exp = data_exp.concat(temp);
});
return data_exp;
}
And for reference, the destination controller function that only prints the $_POST array (by the way I am using CodeIgniter):
public function pass_basic_data() {
var_dump($_POST);
}
Can you please pinpoint the error I've made, since I can't find it. Thanks a lot!
UPDATE: I am getting this message in particular:
array(1) {
["undefined"] =>
string(0) ""
}
UPDATE:
Thanks for all the help guys! I already solved it. It made me dance all around the room.
I wrapped the return value in a {name : value} pair.
$( "#submit" ).click( function() {
var post_vars = get_experience_data();
var submit_basic = $.post( 'index.php/submit_data/pass_basic_data',
{object: post_vars}
);
submit_basic.done( function(data) {
alert(data); // for debugging purposes
});
});

Answer 1

I would suggest doing the following for a start :
var submit_basic = $.post('index.php/submit_data/pass_basic_data', get_experience_data());

Answer 2

Try this:
var submit_basic = $.post('index.php/submit_data/pass_basic_data', get_experience_data());
// you need to add parentheses here --------------------------------------------------^
When you pass a function to $.post() it assumes it is a callback that is to be called after the response is received. What you want to do is call the function and pass it's return value in to $.post().
By the way, this line:
data_exp = data_exp.concat(temp);
could be replaced with:
data_exp.push(temp);
No need to be creating a new array every time if you're just adding a value to the end.

Answer 3

You need to execute the method get_experience_data, otherwise you are passing the function not executing it

Answer 4

try troubleshooting the actual jquery, not the php part.
but heres a suggestion:
var post_vars = get_experience_data();
var submit_basic = $.post( 'index.php/submit_data/pass_basic_data', post_vars );

Answer 5

here is a conclusion to my previous answer plus the comments, but im still not sure if you could stingify arrays in arrays..
var submit_basic = $.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: 'index.php/submit_data/pass_basic_data',
dataType: 'json',
async: false,
data: JSON.stringify(get_experience_data()),
success: function (response) {
alert(response);
}
});
UPDATE:
modify your get_experience_data function according to this jsfiddle script
like this:
temp = '{ ';
temp+= '"company":"' +$(this).find('td').eq(0).html()+ '", ';
temp+= '"position":"' +$(this).find('td').eq(1).html()+ '", ';
temp+= '"datestart":"' +$(this).find('td').eq(2).html()+ '", ';
temp+= '"dateend":"' +$(this).find('td').eq(3).html()+ '", ';
temp+= '"description":"' +$(this).find('td').eq(4).html()+ '"';
temp+= ' }';