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AJAX and PHP

 AJAX is used to create more interactive applications.

Start typing a name in the input field below:

 

Suggestions: Kitty

Example Explained

In the example above, when a user types a character in the input field, a function called showHint() is executed.

The function is triggered by the onkeyup event.

Here is the HTML code:


<html>
<head>
<script>
function showHint(str) {
  if (str.length == 0) { 
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = "";
    return;
  } else {
    var xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
    xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
      if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
        document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = this.responseText;
      }
    }
    xmlhttp.open("GET", "gethint.php?q="+str, true);
    xmlhttp.send();
  }
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<p><b>Start typing a name in the input field below:</b></p>
<form action="">
  <label for="fname">First name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname" onkeyup="showHint(this.value)">
</form> 
<p>Suggestions: <span id="txtHint"></span></p>

</body>
</html>


Code explanation:

First, check if the input field is empty (str.length == 0). If it is, clear the content of the txtHint placeholder and exit the function.

However, if the input field is not empty, do the following:

  • Create an XMLHttpRequest object
  • Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
  • Send the request off to a PHP file (gethint.php) on the server
  • Notice that q parameter is added to the url (gethint.php?q=" + str)
  • And the str variable holds the content of the input field

The PHP File - "gethint.php"

The PHP file checks an array of names, and returns the corresponding name(s) to the browser:
// Array with names
$a[] = "Anna";
$a[] = "Brittany";
$a[] = "Cinderella";
$a[] = "Diana";
$a[] = "Eva";
$a[] = "Fiona";
$a[] = "Gunda";
$a[] = "Hege";
$a[] = "Inga";
$a[] = "Johanna";
$a[] = "Kitty";
$a[] = "Linda";
$a[] = "Nina";
$a[] = "Ophelia";
$a[] = "Petunia";
$a[] = "Amanda";
$a[] = "Raquel";
$a[] = "Cindy";
$a[] = "Doris";
$a[] = "Eve";
$a[] = "Evita";
$a[] = "Sunniva";
$a[] = "Tove";
$a[] = "Unni";
$a[] = "Violet";
$a[] = "Liza";
$a[] = "Elizabeth";
$a[] = "Ellen";
$a[] = "Wenche";
$a[] = "Vicky";

// get the q parameter from URL
$q = $_REQUEST["q"];

$hint = "";

// lookup all hints from array if $q is different from ""
if ($q !== "") {
  $q = strtolower($q);
  $len=strlen($q);
  foreach($a as $name) {
    if (stristr($q, substr($name, 0, $len))) {
      if ($hint === "") {
        $hint = $name;
      } else {
        $hint .= ", $name";
      }
    }
  }
}

// Output "no suggestion" if no hint was found or output correct values
echo $hint === "" ? "no suggestion" : $hint;
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