Is it possible to send an AJAX request on load? - php

Hello I have two dependants select box, the second one is popularited after onchange event.
The first one is loaded with a selected value (selected=selected), what I'm asking, it is possible to send the requested while the page is loading, ie as I have the the selected option, just send the request.
Javascript
function getXMLHTTP() {
var xmlhttp=false;
try{
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
catch(e) {
try{
xmlhttp= new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
catch(e){
try{
xmlhttp = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
}
catch(e1){
xmlhttp=false;
}
}
}
return xmlhttp;
}
function getSubCat(catId,incat) {
var strURL="../Includes/subcatAds.php?SubCat="+catId+"&incat="+incat;
var req = getXMLHTTP();
if (req) {
req.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (req.readyState == 4) {
// only if "OK"
if (req.status == 200) {
document.getElementById('subcat').innerHTML=req.responseText;
} else {
alert("There was a problem while using XMLHTTP:\n" + req.statusText);
}
}
}
req.open("GET", strURL, true);
req.send(null);
}
}
The PHP will be provided if needed

You really need to use jQuery and replace all of the above with:
function getSubCat(catId, incat)
{
$('#subcat').load("../Includes/subcatAds.php?SubCat="+catId+"&incat="+incat);
}
// Run on load:
$( function(){
getSubCat(4, 5);
});
It will do the same thing. It's set up to run on load, and you don't have to worry about cross browser compatibility.
You will find yourself using jQuery selectors all the time and your code will be very lightweight. If you link the jQuery library to Google servers people will not even have to download it. Most people have it in cache already.

You could use the onload event like this:
window.onload = function(){
var selectbox = document.getElementById('select box id');
if (selectbox.value !== ''){
// your code to send ajax requests...
}
};
The code runs as soon as page loads. It then checks if the value of the specified select box is not empty meaning something is selected; in that case you put your code for the ajax request which will execute.

Since you are doing this before getting any input from the user, you could immediately make the call to the server, before the DOM is finished, before the page is fully loaded, and then just wait until the onload event takes place, or you get informed that the DOM tree is finished, and you can then safely change the value of any of the html elements.
This way you don't have the user wait for the browser to finish loading before you even start your request, which will improve the user experience.

Related

Post a Form to a PHP File using XMLHTTPRequest/AJAX

I am a bit forgetful of PHP, is there a simpler way to post a form using JavaScript AJAX, don't want to add jQuery simply to post an ajax request, without having to pass the parameters?
I want to post the form via Ajax and not have to get the parameters and send them in the call, is this possible? Is there an alternative to the following code...
var mypostrequest=new ajaxRequest()
mypostrequest.onreadystatechange=function(){
if (mypostrequest.readyState==4){
if (mypostrequest.status==200 || window.location.href.indexOf("http")==-1){
document.getElementById("result").innerHTML=mypostrequest.responseText
}
else{
alert("An error has occured making the request")
}
}
}
var namevalue=encodeURIComponent(document.getElementById("name").value)
var agevalue=encodeURIComponent(document.getElementById("age").value)
var parameters="name="+namevalue+"&age="+agevalue
mypostrequest.open("POST", "basicform.php", true)
mypostrequest.setRequestHeader("Content-type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded")
**mypostrequest.send(parameters)**
It is my intent to use POST instead of GET to hide what is being sent on the URL, this feels strange and it's the same as using a GET. Or am I reading this wrong?
Just don't use jQuery if you only want some plain simple Ajax.
This will do the job just fine:
// Vanilla
var httpRequest = new XMLHttpRequest()
httpRequest.onreadystatechange = function (data) {
// code
}
httpRequest.open('GET', url)
httpRequest.send()
All kudos go to: https://gist.github.com/liamcurry/2597326
Now we could also add some more browser support (IE6 and older: http://caniuse.com/#search=XMLHttpRequest) # all those jQuery heads: jQuery 2 dropped support for IE8 and older so no 'extra support' there.
// creates an XMLHttpRequest instance
function createXMLHttpRequestObject()
{
// xmlHttp will store the reference to the XMLHttpRequest object
var xmlHttp;
// try to instantiate the native XMLHttpRequest object
try
{
// create an XMLHttpRequest object
xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
}
catch(e)
{
// assume IE6 or older
try
{
xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHttp");
}
catch(e) { }
}
// return the created object or display an error message
if (!xmlHttp)
alert("Error creating the XMLHttpRequest object.");
else
return xmlHttp;
}
All kudos go to: http://www.cristiandarie.ro/asp-ajax/Async.html
This post was sponsored by Google (a really powerfull tool, you type in stuff and it gives more stuff with answers)

How to receive jQuery post response before completing execution of PHP script?

I have a simple jquery function that sends a post request to a PHP file like this:
$.post('/file.php',
{
action: 'send'
},
function(data, textStatus)
{
alert(data);
});
And a PHP file:
<?php
/* Some SQL queries here */
echo 'action done';
/* echo response back to jquery and continue other actions here */
?>
jQuery by default waits till executing the whole PHP script before giving the alert. Is there a way to alert the action done before executing the rest of the PHP file??
Thanks
It is possible with plain Javascript ajax. The onreadystatechange event will fire with a readyState of 3, when data is received before the request is complete.
In the example below, newData will contain the new piece of data. We have to do some processing because the XHR actually gives us the entire data so far in responseText and so if we only want to know the new data, we have to keep a record of the last index.
var httpRequest, lastIndex = 0;
if (window.XMLHttpRequest) { // Mozilla, Safari, ...
httpRequest = new XMLHttpRequest();
} else if (window.ActiveXObject) { // IE 8 and older
httpRequest = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
httpRequest.onreadystatechange = function() {
if(httpRequest.readyState === 3) {
var newData = httpRequest.responseText.substring(lastIndex);
lastIndex = httpRequest.responseText.length;
console.log(newData);
}
};
httpRequest.open('POST', '/file.php');
httpRequest.send('action=send');
As for jQuery ajax, this answer suggests jQuery lets you bind to the readystatechange but I haven't tested it.

Call javascript function in parent window from child ajax

been working on a new site, and run into a problem.
I have an ajax loader on my main page, which loads a script every second to check if a background process is completed (usually 20 seconds-ish)
But, once the ajax script has executed (20 seconds later) it still refreshes every second.
I need to redirect the parent page to a new url, once the ajax script has finished its job.
My ajax code:
<script type="text/javascript">
function myFunction()
{
var ajaxRequest; // The variable that makes Ajax possible!
try{
// Opera 8.0+, Firefox, Safari
ajaxRequest = new XMLHttpRequest();
} catch (e){
// Internet Explorer Browsers
try{
ajaxRequest = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
} catch (e) {
try{
ajaxRequest = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
} catch (e){
// Something went wrong
alert("Your browser broke!");
return false;
}
}
}
// Create a function that will receive data sent from the server
ajaxRequest.onreadystatechange = function(){
if(ajaxRequest.readyState == 4){
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=ajaxRequest.responseText;
}
}
ajaxRequest.open("GET", "code/timer.php?file='.$file.'", true);
ajaxRequest.send(null);
}
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
function forward(){
location.href=\'http://domain/newpage.html\';
}
function setTimer(){
set = setInterval( "myFunction()", 1000 );
}
</script>
the backslashes in forward(); are because my code is echoed from php.
i have tried a few codes, but the main one that should work (in child ajax element) is:
window.opener.forward();
would be greatful of any help you guys can provide... thanks
opener is only available in windows opened with javascript, call simply
forward();
but you should use another name for the function, there is a predefined method window.forward()

Refreshing only 1 DIV via PHP after submit form

I have a comments board on my page, to which I load different topics according to the page the user is on with XMLHttpRequest in a changeTopic() function. I originally had this at the end of my submit form php:
header('Location: http://' . $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] . $_POST['page']);
The problem is that I don't want to refresh the whole page, only the DIV that contains the messages. I tried running the changeTopic() function by inserting it inside script tags with echo. For one, I couldn't get .$_GET['topic']. working inside echo even if I made a variable of it first, but also I tried running the function by hard inserting one of the possible values with the following results:
1) While the messages section refreshed right, I lost the form as it's contained in the index.html while I only load the messages from an external gettopic.php with query string.
2) I got a weird result where I lost an external file that was loaded into a completely different div altogether. This file changes the hash of the main page, which is checked with every refresh and the right file is loaded according the hash, so using the whole page refresh never resulted in this.
// EDIT
function changeTopic(topic) {
if (topic=="") {
document.getElementById("messagelist").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else {
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function() {
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200) {
document.getElementById("messagelist").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open("POST", "gettopic.php?t="+topic,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
The main application on my page is a SVG map which I've done with RaphaelJS. The user can load information pages into another div 'info' from this SVG map. The pages are loaded with a similar function which in addition changes the #hash and runs the changeTopic() as well to change the message board so people can have a conversation about each topic.
The PHP form takes the normal filled info as well as the hidden 'pageid' which is set by the current page the user is browsing, and sends it to the database. The different messages are sorted by this pageid so the changeTopic() function only brings the right messages: gettopic.php?t=topic ('pageid').
After submitting the form I'd like only the messagespart to refresh and the form to clear. At the moment it's either a whole page refresh (user looses their position on the SVG map) or partial refresh where I lose the form (get a blank spot instead) and that weird information-page missing.
you can do something like this:
var ajaxfoo = function(obj) {
var xmlHttp = null;
try {
xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
}catch(e) {
try {
xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}catch(e) {
try {
xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
}catch(e) {
xmlHttp = null;
}
}
}if (xmlHttp) {
obj.method = obj.method.toUpperCase();
xmlHttp.open(obj.method, obj.url, true);
xmlHttp.setRequestHeader("Content-type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
if(obj.method == 'POST') {
if(typeof(obj.params) != 'undefined') {
xmlHttp.setRequestHeader("Content-length", obj.params.length);
}
}
xmlHttp.setRequestHeader("Connection", "close");
xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = function () {
if (xmlHttp.readyState == 4) {
var json = eval(xmlHttp.responseText);
if(json.success) {
if(typeof(obj.success) == 'function'){obj.success(xmlHttp.responseText);}
}
else {
if(typeof(obj.failure) == 'function') {obj.failure(xmlHttp.responseText);}
}
}
};
if(obj.method == 'POST' && typeof(obj.params) != 'undefined') {
xmlHttp.send(obj.params);
}
else {
xmlHttp.send(null);
}
}
};
function callfoo(topicname) {
ajaxfoo({
method: 'GET',
url: 'gettopic.php?t='+topicname,
success: function(response) {
var json = eval(response);
alert('success callback function! '+json.data);
},
failure: function(response) {
var json = eval(response);
alert('failure callback function! '+json.data);
}
});
}
and in
success: function(response) {
var json = eval(response);
alert('success callback function! '+json.data);
},
you can add your innerHTML stuff :)
the gettopic.php
should then echo something like:
{success: true, data: [{id: 1, "title": "test title", "description": "moo"},{id: 2, "title": "test title", "description": "moo"},{id: 3, "title": "test title", "description": "moo"}]}
And the you can access this by calling
json.data[0].title
json.data[1].title
json.data[2].title
json.data[0].description
...
so you can simply build your innerHTML stuff by doing something like
doc....innerHTML = '<h2>'+json.data[0].title+'</h2>';
Use jQuery - great tool. It could look like
$(function(){
//when you want to reload your div, just put this line
$("#div_element").load('your_new_page.php');
});
and that's it !
I'm quite confused about what you are doing, but XMLHttpRequest should be the one running changeTopic() in the readystatechange handler.

Check for username while typing in field?

I am fluent with HTML, and mostly PHP.
I can do the scanning part with PHP.. I'm just not sure how to call a function in PHP with JavaScript, because I don't know JavaScript.
My PHP code will connect to my MySQL database and see if the text currently in the textbox (Not clicked enter yet, still typing) is in the database..
Do you know how to do this, or at least know a link that tells you how to do it?
This sounds like a problem for jQuery. I'd give you a long-winded example, but there are many people that would give you a much better one: like this guy.
Consider using jQuery in conjunction with jQuery UI, specifically something called autocomplete. I'm fairly certain it does what you're wanting, and it's completely themable for your site.
I see everybody likes jQuery so much, wow!
I'd tell you just need some very basic Ajax script to call your PHP script and receive the response.
Here's the simple Javascript function (actually two):
function getXMLObject() {
var xmlHttp = false;
try {
xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");// For Old Microsoft Browsers
}
catch (e) {
try {
xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");// For Microsoft IE 6.0+
}
catch (e2) {
xmlHttp = false;// No Browser accepts the XMLHTTP Object then false
}
}
if (!xmlHttp && typeof XMLHttpRequest != 'undefined') {
xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();//For Mozilla, Opera Browsers
}
return xmlHttp;// Mandatory Statement returning the ajax object created
}
var xmlhttp = new getXMLObject();//xmlhttp holds the ajax object
//use this method for asynchronous communication
function doRequest(scriptAddressWithParams, callback) {
if (xmlhttp) {
xmlhttp.open("POST", scriptAddressWithParams, true);
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function () {
if (xmlhttp.readyState == 4) {
if (xmlhttp.status == 200) {
callback(xmlhttp.responseText);
}
else {
alert("Error retrieving information (status = " + xmlhttp.status + ")\n" + response);
}
}
};
xmlhttp.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded');
xmlhttp.send(null);
}
}
and here's an example of usage:
<input type="text" onchange="doRequest('myphpscript.php?checkvalue='+this.value, function (returnedText) { alert(returnedText);});"/>

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