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First of all i am new to php and javascript

I have a web form where users can add multiple contacts ans send to ther server.

Due to some reasons i cant use the normal html elements to store the values ,so i am using an array to store values.

//init array

var contacts = new Array(); //contact array

var tempArray = new Array(); //temp array to store current contacts

//getting the contact info and setting to a temp array

tempArray = {
      name:"username",
      age:12,
      sex:false
     };

//push the content to the `contacts` array

contacts.push(tempArray);

I added many contacts to the contacts array and now i need to submit the array to server.

Problem

I am using Codeignitor and Malsup FORM plugin.

as per malsup i can configure the data option like this

var options = { 

dataType:'json', //type of data
data:[contactArray:contacts], //additional parm

    };

and on ajaxSubmit option i can give this option as a parm.

when i do this i am getting the following error

uncaught exception: [Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x80460001 (NS_ERROR_CANNOT_CONVERT_DATA) [nsIDOMFormData.append]"  nsresult: "0x80460001 (NS_ERROR_CANNOT_CONVERT_DATA)"  location: "JS frame :: /js/form.js :: fileUploadXhr :: line 224"  data: no]
temp/jquery.min.js
Line 4

IT WORKS with $.POST in jQuery.

so i tried the JSON.stingify() to convert the data to string.

but on server i am getting like this

'contactArray' => string '[{"name":"username","sex":"12","sex":"false"}]'

If i used the json_decode then i cant use the form validation.

I want to use the FORM VALIDATION LIBRARY IN CODEIGNITOR.

CI supports validation of array of elements.

so

if i get something like name[],age[],sex[] then i can validate easily.

Please help me to solve the problems or give me suggestions.

Thank you.

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1  
data:[contactArray:contacts] is not valid JavaScript. You probably meant data: {contactArray:contacts} – Utkanos Jul 9 '12 at 11:07
i am seetting the data options like this options["data"] = {contactsArray:contacts}; – Red Jul 9 '12 at 11:15

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote accepted

This code does not create an array:

tempArray = {
      name:"username",
      age:12,
      sex:false
     };

It creates an object (completely overwriting the blank array you assigned to tempArray earlier).

if i get something like name[],age[],sex[] then i can validate easily.

If you want, you can create post data that would look like that, as a prep step prior to sending in your data. It's fairly easy::

function prepContacts(contacts) {
    var result = []; // Build up string in array, we'll join at the end
    var nameKey, ageKey, sexKey;

    // I've put [] in these because you use PHP
    nameKey = encodeURIComponent("name[]");
    ageKey = encodeURIComponent("age[]");
    sexKey = encodeURIComponent("sex[]");

    for (index = 0; index < contacts.length; ++index) {
        contact = contacts[index];
        result.push(nameKey + "=" + encodeURIComponent(contact.name));
        result.push(ageKey + "=" + encodeURIComponent(contact.age));
        result.push(sexKey + "=" + encodeURIComponent(contact.sex));
    }

    return result.join("&");
}

Then post that via $.ajax:

$.ajax({
    url: "/path/to/resource",
    type: "POST",
    data: prepContacts(contacts),
    success: function(response) {
        // POST worked, but you have to check response for whether
        // it worked at the logic level
    },
    error: function() {
        // POST failed
    }
});
share|improve this answer
Thanks alot ..but as a newbie i have to ask this .. :) so first i need to create a contact object .. then convert to array ,right ? – Red Jul 9 '12 at 11:19
@Garbage: The above isn't converting it to an array, it's converting it to a POST data string which will have parallel entries for name, age, and sex. (E.g., name[0], age[0], and sex[0] are all for the same contact.) You'd continue to build your list of contacts as you are (an array of objects), but then use this prep step when sending that to the server. – T.J. Crowder Jul 9 '12 at 11:33
yes i got it ..but i am getting weird results from server ..0 => string 'n' (length=1) 1 => string 'a' (length=1) 2 => string 'm' (length=1) 3 => string 'e' (length=1) 4 => string '%' (length=1) 5 => string '5' (length=1) 6 => string 'B' (length=1) 7 => string '%' (length=1) 8 => string '5' (length=1) 9 => string 'D' (length=1) 10 => string '=' (length=1) 11 => string '1' (length=1) – Red Jul 9 '12 at 11:49
@Garbage: Sorry, I can't see why that would be happening, but I'm neither a big PHP guy, nor a user of CodeIgniter. – T.J. Crowder Jul 9 '12 at 11:51
Crowder Thank you very much sir ,its not a problem of php.I tested this with $.post and works well ..but when i use malsup i am getting results like this ..thats the big problem ..but i learned so much from you ..thanks alot .. – Red Jul 9 '12 at 11:55
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