missing } returned to AJAX posted

[Tarik Monem]

Hi guys, it's me one more time today.

I have a PHP file echoing an array back to a javascript file.

Here's the Array being generated:

$myTempArray[$count] .= "{SHOWS:\"".htmlentities($shows_new2)."\",GENDER:\"".htmlentities($gender_new2)."\", AGE:\"".htmlentities($age_new2)."\",FIRST_NAME:\"".htmlentities($user_first_name_new2)."\", LAST_NAME:\"".htmlentities($user_last_name_new2)."\",EMAIL_ADDRESS:\"".htmlentities($emailaddress_new2)."\", PHONE_NUMBER:\"".htmlentities($phone_number_new2)."\", CITY:\"".htmlentities($city_new2)."\",STATE:\"".htmlentities($state_new2)."\", ZIP:\"".htmlentities($zip_new2)."\",PICTURE:\"".htmlentities($picture_new2)."\"}";
$count++;
 
echo "javascript:mySeFunc([".$myTempVar."]);";
 

When it sends the array to the Javascript file, then I receive an error in the JavaScript error console that the "}" is missing.

What can I do, I've been using this method for many of my applications, but this is the first time that I've encountered this issue.

I've tried stripslashes, addslashes, htmlentities, etc... but nothing seems to send the entire array without receiving some kind of error.

As usual, thanks in advance :-)

[acoder]

Can you post an example array that shows up this error.

[Tarik Monem]

The error reads exactly:

Error: missing } in XML expression
Source file: http://www.somedomain.com/someJSFile.js line 97
javascript:mySeFunc([{SHOWS:"some_show",GENDER:"Male",...

The arrow appears after the colon following SHOWS.

It's like it is not reading the entire array as a string.

Thanks in advance

[acoder]

Where is this piece of code being echoed?

[Tarik Monem]

echo "javascript:mySeFunc([".$myTempVar."]);";
 

From there the javascript file takes the echo:

window.onload = eval(response);
 

Which calls the function to send the array to a datagrid within a Flex app:

function mySeFunc(someArrayComing)
{
    var flexApp = FABridge.fab.root();
    flexApp.myActionScriptFromJavascript(someArrayComing);
}
 

I've been doing this with several applications and I don't know why this one is giving me such a hard time. For a while I thought it was because some of the data in the DB had apostrophes in their names, but I use addslashes(), so I don't think that this is issue.

And the arrow is always following the colon ":" character. Why would javascript have a problem with ":"?

[acoder]

That still doesn't explain where the echo is called within the HTML code. From the "javascript:" protocol, I assume it's within a link tag?

[Tarik Monem]

I'm sorry if I mis-understood, but I believe you are asking what initiates the echo. If this is the case, then the answer would be an ExternalInterface.call from the Flex application, which calls a javascript function sendRequestPost2():

    var phpscript2 = '../../two_arrays_into_one.php';
 
    function createRequestObject() 
    {    
        var req;
 
        if(window.XMLHttpRequest)
        {
            // Firefox, Safari, Opera...
            req = new XMLHttpRequest();
        } 
        else if(window.ActiveXObject) 
        {
            // Internet Explorer 5+
            req = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
        } 
        else 
        {
            // There is an error creating the object,
            // just as an old browser is being used.
            alert('There was a problem creating the XMLHttpRequest object');
        }    
        return req;    
    }
 
    // Make the XMLHttpRequest object
    var http = createRequestObject();
 
    function sendRequestPost2() 
    {
        // Open PHP script for requests
        http.open('post', phpscript2);
        http.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded');
        http.onreadystatechange = handleResponsePost;
        http.send('userid=1');
        //window.onload = eval('javascript:writeMyHtmlFunction('+session+','+id+');');
    }
 
 
function handleResponsePost() 
{
    if(http.readyState == 1)
    {
        document.getElementById("response2").innerHTML = "Please wait, loading... " ; 
    } 
    else if(http.readyState == 4 && http.status == 200)
    {
 
        // Text returned from PHP script
        var response = http.responseText;
 
        if(response) 
        {
            // document.getElementById("response2").innerHTML = response;        
            window.onload = eval(response);
            // mySeFunc();
        }
    }
}
 
 

The function of course calls the PHP file which logs into the database, retrieves the data and then returns the values via the echo:

echo "javascript:mySeFunc([".$myTempVar."]);";
 

The echo is then called to action via the JS file:

window.onload = eval(response);
 

Which the JS code for the mySeFunc is as follows:

function mySeFunc(someArrayComing)
{
    var flexApp = FABridge.fab.root();
    flexApp.myActionScriptFromJavascript(someArrayComing);
}
 

Now, if I substitute "someArrayComing" for values then it works fine and populates the datagrid. If I substitute "response" for values, then once again, it works fine and the datagrid is populated with no errors. That means that somewhere between the echo within the PHP --

echo "javascript:mySeFunc([".$myTempVar."]);";
 
and JS:
 
window.onload = eval(response);
 

would be the issue. Since the server crashed two Sundays ago, this application has not been functioning the way that it was able to. Before the IT Admin that we have now, there was someone who previously maintained the server and this server is set to all default settings. Is there some kind of tweek to the configurations of the server, PHP wise, that would cause PHP not to be able to send a string with a ":" character to JS?

Everything about these files works, except sending a string with a ":" character via the paramater "response." If I copy and paste the same data that was echoed via JS:

// document.getElementById("response2").innerHTML = response;
 

which I commented out, then it works fine. The problem is between the PHP echo to the JS's "response" param. How is it possible for this code to have worked perfectly, then the server crashes, the new server is set to default settings and now the application doesn't function as expected.

There has to be something to the configuration of php.ini that is causing this block.

Thanks in advance

[acoder]

The use of "javascript:" is not really needed.

I'm wondering why you're assigning to window.onload. Does mySeFunc return a function? It doesn't seem to.

[Tarik Monem]

Actually, mySeFunc does return a function to the Flex application and populates the datagrid with the info within the param being passed:

function mySeFunc(someArrayComing)
{
    var flexApp = FABridge.fab.root();
    flexApp.myActionScriptFromJavascript(someArrayComing);
}
 

Here is the myActionScriptFromJavascript function within the Flex app:

        public function myActionScriptFromJavascript(someArrayComing:Array):void
        {
            dataGrid.dataProvider = someArrayComing;
            dataGrid.validateNow();
        }
 

So, I believe that I have to differ with you on needing JavaScript, because that is the way I have been populating the datagrid within Flex, is by using the FABridge method of making a bridge between JS & Flex.

The strange thing about all of this, is that this all worked perfectly before the server crashed two Sundays ago. The IT guy restored to server to all default settings. Is there some kind of setting in the php.ini that would prevent PHP from sending a string via a param, that may have been changed by returning to the default settings.

The reason why I ask this question, is because I have taken the data that is echoed by the PHP file, copied & pasted in place of the variable "response" and it populates the Flex Datagrid with no problems or errors.

Obviously, something is dieing between the PHP and the JS file:

echo "javascript:mySeFunc([".$myTempVar."]);";
 
and 
 
window.onload = eval(response); 
 

And why did this work for months, then die a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks in advance

[acoder]

The fact that this was working fine before the server crash means that what I'm explaining may not be helpful, but all the same...

What I was saying was that when you assign something to window.onload, it is usually a function object to run when the window has loaded, not a function which is run immediately and the result assigned to it (unless the function returns a function object itself).

I'm not sure why you're assigning to window.onload after the page has loaded, but there you go.

I can't really explain why it's not working, but as you say, most likely it's some server setting which doesn't send the response in the right format. Perhaps you need to check the headers.