jQuery/Ajax contact form not working - php

Question

I am new to jQuery. I am trying to submit a contact form, and the display a thank you message for feedback. I had a look at the tutorial at NetTuts+.My form is not being submitted. Here is my code:
jQuery
<script src="jquery.js"></script>
<script>
$(document).ready(function() {
$('.error').hide();
$("#submitButton").click(function() {
$('.error').hide();
var name = $("input#name").val();
if (name == "") {
$("label#name_error").show();
$("input#name").focus();
return false;
}
var email = $("input#email").val();
if (email == "") {
$("label#email_error").show();
$("input#email").focus();
return false;
}
var companyName = $("#usermessage").val();
if (companyName == "") {
$("label#message_error").show();
$("input#usermessage").focus();
return false;
}
var subject=$("#subject option:selected").text();
var dataString = 'name='+ name + '&email=' + email + '&message=' + companyName;
//alert (dataString);return false;
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: "mailer.php",
data: dataString,
success: function() {
$('#contact_form').html("<div id='message'></div>");
$('#message').html("<h2>Contact Form Submitted!</h2>")
.append("<p>We will be in touch soon.</p>")
.hide()
.fadeIn(1500, function() {
$('#message').append("Thank you");
});
}
});
return false;
});
});
</script>
PHP
<?php
$mailTo = 'varma.anirudh12#gmail.com';
$name = htmlspecialchars($_POST['name']);
$mailFrom = htmlspecialchars($_POST['email']);
$subjectNumber = htmlspecialchars($_POST['subject']);
$message_text = htmlspecialchars($_POST['msg']);
switch ($subjectNumber)
{
case 0:
$subject='Sales';
break;
case 1:
$subject='Careers';
break;
case 2:
$subject='Other';
break;
}
$dataString=htmlspecialchars($_POST['dataString']);
//$message = 'From: '.$name.'; Email: '.$mailFrom.' ; Message: '.$message_text;
$sendcon=mail($mailTo, $subject, $message);
if ( isset($_GET["ajax"]) ) {
echo $sendcon ? "success" : "error";
} else {
}
?>
The issue is that on pressing the submit button, nothing happens. There are no errors on the javascript console.
I think that my php is not correct and is not listening to the Ajax data, as the error log of apache says PHP Notice: Undefined index: dataString.
where am i going wrong?
thanks
EDIT: I Am running this on localhost on an ubuntu machine, I have set up the mail server and tested it with a test email

Answer 1

You should try the following:
$.post("mailer.php", { name: "John", email: "jsmith#xyz.com" } );

Answer 2

It would be useful if we could see your form code too. I've put together a tutorial here: http://blog.fraser-hart.co.uk/ajax-contact-form-tutorial/
You can download the files and compare them to what you have come up with. Have a read through and let me know if you've any questions about how anything works and I'll point you in the right direction