.net developer trying to do a php site for a friend, so far everything is going great but I was wondering if php has something like a textchanged event. Here is what I want to do, I want a drop down box to be appended with data retrieved from a database based on what the user enters in a textbox above(Using the text in the textbox as a parameter to retrieve data from a database and append it to the drop down without reloading the entire page.)
protected void TextBox1_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Do stuff
}
The block off code above is in asp.net but i want to implement something similar in php.
That is not how php works. however you can make a ajax call like this with jquery:
<?php
//array, object or db result you use to fill your dropdown
$array = array('pipo', 'kees', 'klaas', 'klaas1', 'jan', 'meneerje', 'poep', 'hessel', 'kaas', 'ietsandersd', 'smit', 'cowoy', 'nog zo iets');
//if we want to search we search and only return the new found options
if(isset($_REQUEST['keyword'])){
$new_array = array();
foreach($array as $value){
if(strpos($value, $_REQUEST['keyword']) !== false){
$new_array[] = $value;
}
}
}
else{
$new_array = $array;
}
$options = '';
foreach($new_array as $key => $option){
$options .= "<option value='$key'>$option</option>";
}
$selectbox = "<select name='selectbox' id='drop_down'>$options</select>";
if(isset($_REQUEST['keyword'])){
echo $options;
}
else{
// with the \ we escape the "
echo "<html>
<head>
<title>ajax selectbox</title>
<script src=\"http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js\" type=\"text/javascript\"></script>
<script type=\"text/javascript\">
$(document).ready(function () {
$('body').on('keyup', '.search', function(){
var data = $('.search').serialize();
$.post('ajax_selectbox.php', data, function (data){
$('#drop_down').html(data);
});
});
});
</script>
</head>
<body>
<input type='text' name='keyword' class='search' />
$selectbox
</body>
</html>
";
}
?>
explanation:
java script, first we include the online jquery library, you can also download the library and include it from your own web server.
<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// first we wait unit the html page is loaded
$(document).ready(function () {
//then we wait for a keyup event in the element with class="search" we use the css sector . for classes like .search
$('body').on('keyup', '.search', function(){
//when we type inside the .search textbox we serialize the element like a form would do. this takes the name and the value and puts it in a array.
var data = $('.search').serialize();
// then we post with ajax back to our php file or an other php file. its you own decision. the data variable is the serialized data form .search
$.post('ajax_selectbox.php', data, function (data){
// at least we use a calback for when the ajax event has finnest and we use the jquery html function to put the new options inside the drobbox with id="drop_down". we use the css id selector # to select the select box.
$('#drop_down').html(data);
});
});
});
</script>
note that I use jquery (and a lot of large players on the web use jquery) and if you know a little java-script the syntax can be disturbing.
In jquery we have a large set of methots we can use directly like: $.post(); if you want to use the returned data from that function we create a calback function like:
$.post( function(param_ returned_by_parent_function){
//do stuf
});
An other way of using jquery and this is actually the idea behind it is query to a html element and then do stuff with it like this.
$('html_element_query').do_something_with_this();
of course this is just a basic basically explanation but maybe you get the idea.
You can use javascript onChange handler and send the current value to php via AJAX
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/DOM/element.onchange
http://www.w3schools.com/ajax/
PHP does not know what happens on the client. If you want some events on the client to trigger actions, you have to code that yourself (usually in JavaScript).
PHP itself has no awareness of events happening on the front end. You can, however, plug the functionality (kind of) by using a mixture of Ajax and PHP. Ajax will watch for the events and PHP will process data sent to it from that Ajax.
I suggest using jQuery and checking out http://api.jquery.com/Ajax_Events/
I made a very simple PHP Event Dispatcher for myself, it is testable and has been used on my websites. If you need it, you can take a look.