通过php创建Javascript数组

After spending an embarrassing number of hours on this, I still can't figure out an answer. I have a Javascript/HTML program that has a large dynamic table in it with lots of buttons in the cells of the table. I'd like to send the user's selections of buttons to a database when the user is finished with the page. I will then use those in the receiving php program to display a graph. I've got all of the values of the buttons into a Javascript array, so now I'd like to send the entire array and then use them as a Javascript array in the new program. Every time I try this, I get no results. Here is an example based on what I've found on stackoverflow: Sending program:

<html>
<head>
<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.9.1.min.js"></script>
</head>
<script>
var ourObj={};
ourObj.data="4";
ourObj.arPoints = [{'x':1, 'y': 2},{'x': 2.3, 'y': 3.3},{'x': -1, 'y': -4}];
$.ajax({
   url: 'testb2.php',
   type: 'post',
   data: {"points" : JSON.stringify(ourObj)},
   success: function(data) {
        alert("success");
   }
});
</script>
</html>

Receiving php program:

<?php>
// Test if our data came through
echo "starting";
if (isset($_POST["points"])) {
    // Decode our JSON into PHP objects we can use
    $points = json_decode($_POST["points"]);
    // Access our object's data and array values.
    echo "Data is: " . $points->data . "<br>";
    echo "Point 1: " . $points->arPoints[0]->x . ", " . $points->arPoints[0]->y;
    $servername = "localhost";
    $username = "xxx";
    $password = "yyy";
    $dbname = "zzz";
    $conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);
    // Check connection
    if (!$conn) {
        die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());    
    }
    $sql = "
        INSERT INTO FootprintAction(UserID, ActionValue, fpID)
        VALUES (?, ?, ?);
    ";
    if ($stmt = mysqli_prepare($conn, $sql)) {
        mysqli_stmt_bind_param($stmt, "iss", $points->data, "1", "1");

        mysqli_stmt_execute($stmt);

        mysqli_stmt_close($stmt);
    } else {
        //echo "no result from attempt to insert people into fpAction". "<br>";
        //echo $sql;
    }

}   
?>

What I get is a blank screen from the sending program with only an alert saying "success" (i.e., no answer from the receiving program) and no insertion into the database.

Can you suggest what I am doing wrong? Or even better, is there a simple way using php to get a javascript array from a client-side program to a server-side program? The array I'm trying to send is a set of string data, without labels; here's a row of the array:

actions[ 5] = new Array(    "Install Photovoltaic (Solar) Panels","6.33","1020","33121","0","25","149.8","0","0","0","1","1","Photovoltaic (solar) systems allow you to produce green electricity on your own rooftop.  Vendors often offer both purchase and lease options.   ","3","1.5","10","5.75","0");

I'd like to end up with a Javascript array in the receiving program identical to that in the sending program. Thanks!!!