Selecting Drop Down values programmatically - php

This is the URL I am working on
http://www.bkstr.com/CategoryDisplay/10001-9604-10311-1?demoKey=d
These are the drop down values:
Select Your Program: All (a constant)
Select Your Term: Spring 2012 (a constant))
Search By Course ID or Select Your Department: Contains a list of values (I need to choose this value one by one from my program)
The next drop down "Search By Course ID or Select Your Course" will appear based on what we select in the previous drop down.
This the part that I am trying to automate.
Well, upon clicking submit I get the URL
http://www.bkstr.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CourseMaterialsResultsView?catalogId=10001&categoryId=9604&storeId=10311&langId=-1&programId=755&termId=100021416&divisionDisplayName=%20&departmentDisplayName=ADV&courseDisplayName=3001&sectionDisplayName=10182&demoKey=d&purpose=browsea
Here I can see the chosen values getting passed as query parameters but then this leaves me with a problem:
Every time some new value is added to the drop down list, I have to change my code to incorporate that value
How can I programatically (dynamically) loop through the Department & it's subsequent Courses WITHOUT hardcoding the values prior in my query parameter? Any guidance?

Use Selenium RC, assuming you have access to a server with a GUI (it doesn't need to be the same server as the one executing the PHP). There is a PHP version, which you can use to open a browser and simulate clicks and other interactions with the page.
http://seleniumhq.org/projects/remote-control/
If you don't have access to a server with a GUI, you'll need to do server-side JavaScript with something like Rhino or NodeJS.

you need to "echo" the list courses from the database to the page in the form of a a JS array which corresponds to the index of your department. note that arrays start counting from 0 so your department values should also be starting with 0. this piece of code should be on the head of your html.
var courses = [
["course1-1","course1-2","course1-3","course1-4","course1-5"],
["course2-1","course2-2","course2-3","course2-4","course2-5"],
["course3-1","course3-2","course3-3","course3-4","course3-5"]
];
then, with javascript, add an event listener for your <select>. say you have this HTML
<select id="departments">
<option value="0">dept1</option>
<option value="1">dept2</option>
<option value="2">dept3</option>
</select>
<select id="courses"></select>
for jQuery, your listener will be like this. it should get the previous select value and based on that, build another select.
$(document).ready(function(){
function setCourses() {
var departmentValue = $('#departments').val();
var courseOptions = "";
for (i = 0; i < courses.length; i++) {
courseOptions += "<option value=" + i + ">" +courses[departmentValue][i] + "</option>";
}
$("#courses").html(courseOptions);
}
$('#departments').change(function() {
setCourses();
});
setCourses();
});
here's a fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/z5GTX/1/

Related

Change the value of second select on first select

I'm sorry I haven't included "my attempt" as such with this one, I'm useless with jquery so need some advice!!
I would like to change the value of a second selctor based on the results of the first.
I have a database of builders and regions with the headers builder_name and builder_region. The list ends up looking like this ...
builder_1 region_1
builder_1 region_2
builder_2 region_1
builder_3 region_1
builder_3 region_2
builder_3 region_3
(You get the idea)
I'm using the following in the form I've built to get a list of the builders for the first select box ...
echo '<select class= "ml-select" name="gen_builder">';
echo '<option value=" ">Select Builder</option>';
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($rsBUILDER)) {
if($linebreak !== $row['builder_name']) {
echo '<option value="'.$row['builder_name'].'">'.$row['builder_name'].'</option>';
}
else {echo "";}
$linebreak = $row['builder_name'];
}
echo '</select>';
The $linebreak is to get rid of the duplicate builder names from the list, which works a treat.
What I would like to achieve is a second selector that selects the regions available, dependant upon the builder that has been selected in the first option. I hope this makes sense????
The second query needs to look at the builder selected in the first selector and filter out just the regions that are in rows with the builder name form selector one.
Please do say if you need further information, I'm not great at explaining myself.
As you said you don't have experience with jQuery or Ajax, I'll post my answer with as many comments as possible. I will assume that you have two select dropdowns in your page.
The first one contains the builders, so it will have id="builders".
The second one contains the regions, so it will have id="regions".
From what I understand, the first select will be exactly the one you posted in your question, generated server-side (by PHP). I only ask that you please make a slight change on it, making each option value be equal to the builder's database ID, and not its name (unless the builder's primary key is their name, and not an ID). This will make no difference for the final user but will be important for our jQuery solution. The second one will be empty, as the idea is to fill it dynamically with the regions related to the builder selected in the first dropdown.
Now let's get to the jQuery code:
//Everything that goes below this first line will be ready as soon as the page is fully loaded
$(document).ready(function() {
//The following code defines an event. More precisely, we are defining that the code inside it will run every time our select with id "builders" has its value changed
$('#builders').change(function() {
//$(this) is our builders select. $(this).val() contains the selected value, which is the ID of our selected builder
var currentValue = $(this).val();
//Now, this is our Ajax command that will invoke a script called get_regions.php, which will receive the builder's ID in $_GET['builder_id'] and you can use to query your database looking for all regions related to this builder. Make sure to create an array with the returned regions. Your get_regions.php's last line should be echo json_encode($regions);
$.get("get_regions.php", {'builder_id': currentValue}, function(data) {
//Inside this function is the code that will run when we receive the response from our PHP script. It contains a JSON encoded list of regions, so first of all we need to parse this JSON
var regions = $.parseJSON(data);
//Before filling our second select dropdown with the regions, let's remove all options it already contains, if any
$('#regions').empty();
//Now, all there is left is to loop over the regions, adding each as an option of the regions dropdown. I'll do it the universal way
for (var i = 0; i < regions.length; i++) {
var regionOption = '<option value="'+regions[i]['region_name']+'">';
regionOption += regions[i]['region_name'];
regionOption += '</option>';
$('#regions').append(regionOption);
}
});
});
});
Despite any syntax errors (can't test the code from here) this should do the trick. Hope the comments were clear enough for you to understand how things work in jQuery.

Fill Single Input Based On Prior Select - MYSQL PHP JS?

I want to grab my customers phone number from a MYSQL database and auto populate it into an input box based on users selection of customers in a prior dropdown box.
I've managed to do this in the past when filling in larger amounts of data but what I've previously used seems like a lot of code to auto fill a single input box.
I know how to fill the customer phone based on the data passed from the prior page (although I've deleted that bit here) but I want that data to change dynamically as users use the dropdown.
There's got to be an easy way to do this but I'm a complete newb at js (and only barely proficient at PHP & MYSQL). Can anyone give me a hand?
My PHP/HTML:
$result = mysql_query("SELECT cust_id, name, phone FROM customers ORDER BY name ASC");
$customers = mysql_fetch_array($result);
<label for="customer">Customer:</label>
<select name="customer">
<option value="0">Add New Customer</option>
<? foreach ($customers as $customer): ?>
<option value="<?=$customer['cust_id']?>" <?=($customer['cust_id'] == $parts['cust']) ? "selected" : ""?>><?=$customer['name']?></option>
<? endforeach; ?>
</select>
<label for="custphone">Customer Phone:</label>
<input type="text" name="custphone" value="">
Let me know if you need anything else from me and thanks in advance for helping me out on this.
For this answer, I will use the jQuery syntax, jQuery is a free javascript library, and you'll certainly use it in the future, read more.
To resume, we'll use an event triggered by your select element, when his value is changed, we'll process an AJAX request with some parameters to a PHP page (ajax.php) which returns the phone number of the customer previously choosen.
First you need to include in your HTML web page, the jQuery script, with the <script> tag.
<script src="path/to/jquery.js"></script>
In a second time, we'll create a new javascript script (assuming you add some id's to your HTML elements):
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function(){ // When the document is ready
$("select#customers").on("change",function(){ // We attach the event onchange to the select element
var customer_id = this.value; // We retirve the customer's id
$.ajax({
url : "path/to/ajax.php", // path to you php file which returns the phone number
method : "post", // We want a POST request
data : "customer_id="+customer_id, // You'll retrieve this data in your $_POST variable in ajax.php : $_POST['customer_id']
success: function(response) { // The function to execute if the request is a -success-, response will be the customer phone number
$("input#custphone").value(response); // Fill the phone number input
}
});
});
});
</script>
Now, you've all the gear to continue, you should read about jQuery and AJAX.
You just have to create the "ajax.php", retrieve your customer id with the $_POST variable, process the SQL query to retrieve the phone number, then, return it with an echo.
Sounds like you want to look into AJAX. jQuery.ajax() makes it pretty easy.
Basically, you have a page on the server that queries the database and returns a JSON encoded string that the javascript can convert (using jQuery.parseJSON)back into an array and populate the list!
Use .change() to bind an event to the dropdown's change event. This will fire whenever the selection changes. Inside, you want to get the value (see demo on that page) and send an AJAX request to the server.
The PHP script on the server will query the database and return a JSON string. In the success function of the jQuery AJAX block you can populate the new list with the decoded information. See this page for a tutorial on how to add items to a select.

load list of values to the listbox based on another listbox value

load different list of values(from a database) to listbox when changing another listbox value
for ex:
First list box : -select grade-
Second List box : -select Subject-
Please Help
Thank You
The basic idea is to submit that data to the server (either by POST back, or AJAX), and then respond with the data.
<select id="mySel" onChange="sendData()">
What I've done there is added a javascript function to be called every time the drop down value has changed.
function sendData() {
$.post("processData.php", {selected: $(this).val()}, updateData(data));
}
This is a skeleton of the function I'd write for the select onChange event. I've skipped a step or two here and used jQuery to help create an AJAX request back to the server. I will be calling my php script processData.php to help process which element was selected. The {} contain the data I want to send to the server, in this case the selected value. And Finally what to do once I get data back from the server.
Now I'd be in my php file and able to process the data I took in and run my query to get the new data. Once done I simply json_encode the data and respond with it.
Now back in the javascript world my UpdateData function is automatically called and passed the json data.
function updateData(data) {
var select = '<select name="sel2">';
$().each(data, function(index, val){
select += '<option name="'+ index+ '">'+ value+ '</option>';
});
$("#mySel").parent.append(select);
}
That would allow me to generate a new select list from the returned data (assuming a key/value paired array in json).
I haven't actually tested any code and it's designed to be more of a guide and pseudo-code.
When a user selects a value from one select element, send an XMLHttpRequest to get the data to populate the second select element.

javascript and PHP variable passing

I have two select box and the second select box value is dependent on the first select box. So basically what I am trying to do is that after a user makes a selection on the first select box, it will then store this value of the first select box as a variable. Then it will query my database to populate the second select box, based on the first selected value. Question is, how do I pass in the var I have in the first select box to PHP? I've read other post and people said it's impossible, but if it is then how do people do this? AJAX?
If I understand correctly, then yes, using AJAX is really your only choice.
Indeed, you can, with AJAX, call something like 'getSelectionData.php?data=' + select1.value, which returns a JSON array of data based on the selection in the first select box. You then parse the data and enter it into the second select box.
Add a onchange event listener to the first select box:
document.getElementById("select1").addEventListener("change", function(ev){
var yourstoredvariable = this.value;
someFunctionThatCallsAjax(yourstoredvariable);
}, true);
I assume that you have a Country/City dropdowns, You can do it in two ways, the good AJAX way and the bad way (refresh page on change), I'm gonna describe the good way in jQuery, or at least what I see it good.
this is the client-side (i.e. client) code:
<select id="country">
<option value="1">Canada</option>
<option value="2">UK</option>
</select>
<select id="city" disabled="disabled"></select>
<script type="text/javascript">
$('#country').change(function(){
$('#city').load('/ajax-city.php', {id: $(this).val()});
});
</script>
This is the ajax-city.php code (server):
<?php
$countryId = $_REQUEST['id'];
$cities = array(); // Get it from db, using mysql_query or anything you want to use
foreach($cities as $city) {
echo "<option id=\"{$city['id']}\">{$city['name']}</option>";
}
PS. you would need to include jQuery in your html code, and of course put the two files in the same directory (or change the $.load path).
This particular code is not tested, I've just written it. But it usually works fine to me this way.
You will have an onchange event on the first <select> that will query the server using Ajax with the value of the selected <option> that will return the <option> elements with which to populate the 2nd <select> element.
Question is, how do I pass in the var I have in the first select box to PHP?
I see no problem here.
Just usual, an ordinary html form using GET method.
What's so big about it?
If I see correct you're using Jquery. So you can do this like this:
$('#idOfSelectBox1').change(function(){
jQuery.ajax({
type: "GET",
url:"yourdomain.com/script.php",
data:"selectBox:'"+$('#idOfSelectBox1').val()+"'",
success:function(result){
//do smth with the returned data
}
});
});
in the script.php do your magic and echo what you want to pass back to js

How do you set the default value of a drop down list that is being called via AJAX from another page?

For my code, my drop down lists are initiated on the original page, via
<select name =country id=country
onchange=showRecords(this.value,'country','province')>"
This function is taking the value, equating it to country, then querying MySQL, and setting the results where id=province, and creating cascading dropdown lists. This is obviously via Ajax.
So, when $_REQUEST['province'] is set, then the Province dropdown list gets populated with all provinces from the country to which it belongs, etc.; i.e.;
<?if(isset($province)){
echo "<script>showRecords('".$country."','country','province');</script>";}?>
However, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how I can set the default value equal to $_REQUEST['province']. I cannot use the traditional way:
if (($selected) == ($value)) {
$options.= " selected";
}
Because it is querying the AJAX page with one piece of information at a time.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Your code doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. The particular thing that worries me is that you say ajax is loading one item at a time?
Perhaps something like this. A country select tag like...
<select onchange="showRecords(this)">
As well as creating the javascript function showRecords() which will be called when someone chooses an option in the select tag.
<script>
function showRecords(calling_element) {
// do AJAX call here using calling_element.options[calling_element.selectedIndex].value as the selected country. this.value does not work for select tags.
}
</script>
the PHP page that receives this AJAXed request would reply with a JSON object containing all of the province values, or a delimited list.
once the Javascript showRecords function receives the responce from the PHP page, it would add each of these options to the correct select tag. Once finished, it would set the default value to whichever option it wants by something like the following:
target_element.selectedIndex = {desired list index here};
I have a lot of assumptions to your questions,
first is, if bydefault you have the select province like this
<select id="province">
<option value=""></option>
<option value="California">California</option>
<option value="Washington">Washingthon</option>
</select>
then you can use this script to default select
document.getElementById("province").value="Washington";
but if bydefault you have the select province like this
<select id="province"></select>
then you can use this script to default select
document.getElementById("province").innerHTML='<option value="Wahsington">Washington</option>';
so it depend on your code and your need. maybe if you have another case the problem should be solved in another way.
cmmiiw :)

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