method to move multiple variables (array?) from jquery to PHP - php

Question

I was chasing after JSON as a method to do this, but I'm wondering if I should have been looking in a different direction. I'll tackle this as simply as possible.
Jquery from "page1.php"
$(".button").click(function() {
var name = "Jeremy";
var car = "Saturn";
var color = "blue";
var state = "Mississippi";
// I need all four of these to get passed over to PHP in the following ajax
$.ajax({
url: "page2.php",
//dataType: '???????',
type: 'POST',
data: 'mydata=' + ????????,
success: function(result) {
alert(result);
}
});
});
So there are four jquery variables that I've fudged. Now I need to hand them over to page2.php for my backend PHP. Here is page2.php
if (filter_has_var(INPUT_POST, "mydata")) {
$mydata = mysql_real_escape_string(filter_input(INPUT_POST,'mydata'));
// Here I need to turn these into variables, or just an array and then throw them into my SQL
mysql_query("INSERT INTO mysqldata (namefield, carfield, colorfield, statefield)
VALUES ($name, $car, $color, $state)");
$sqlresult = mysql_insert_id;
if ($sqlresult != '') {
echo "SQL successfully updated.";
}
}
Thus, my question is: What is the most effective method to pass the data to PHP, in this case?
There's probably a simple answer here that I just don't know. Can I turn those jquery variables into an array and hand them to PHP that way? Is JSON still the best way to go, and I just need to know how to convert it on the back end?

Answer 1

As an array
var mydata = [name, car, color, state];
Or as an object
var mydata = { 'name' : name, 'car' : car, 'color' : color, 'state' : state };
-
$.ajax({
...
data: mydata
...

Answer 2

JavaScript/jQuery
$(".button").click(function() {
// create the data object
var myData = {
name : 'Jeremy',
car : 'Saturn',
color: 'blue',
state: 'Mississippi'
};
$.ajax({
url: "page2.php",
//dataType: '???????',
type: 'POST',
data: myData,
success: function(result) {
alert(result);
}
});
});
PHP
// check if the name has been posted, which means we have a submission to process
if(isset($_POST['name'])){
$query = sprintf("INSERT INTO mysqldata (namefield, carfield, colorfield, statefield) VALUES ('%s', '%s', '%s', '%s')",
mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['name']), // clean malicious code
mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['car']), // from user input
mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['color']), // to protect against
mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['state'])); // SQL injection
// run the query
$result = mysql_query($query);
// check if the insert was done successfully
if($result){
echo 'SQL successfully updated.';
}
}
If you notice, based on the id we used on the javascript object to assign the data, we are accessing it in the $_POST array. E.g.
The name
var myData = {
name : 'Jeremy',
...
}
Will be access on PHP side with
$_POST['name']

Answer 3

Hope this blog posts helps you..
http://www.factsandpeople.com/facts-mainmenu-5/26-html-and-javascript/89-jquery-ajax-json-and-php
It focuses on using json_decode method to decode the json