Develop Reference

Display “No matches found” or hide DIV results (AJAX & MySQL)

I have a search bar that works for displaying AJAX live search results with MySQL, PHP, and JS.
The problem is I can’t figure out how to get the search results to display “No matches found” or hide the results div completely when a query doesn’t match any “Name” in the MySQL database.
Currently, when a user types something into the search bar that doesn’t match any “Name” in the database, a blank result pops up under the AJAX live search result. I would instead like for the message “No matches found” to take over that blank result.
I have tried a number of else / if / echo codes and combinations in different orders and nothing has worked so far. I am also trying a different method of showing / hiding a div that displays “No matches found” based on the results.
How can I fix this code once and for all so that when the user searches any name that doesn’t match any name in the MySQL database, it will display "No matches found"?
Below are the files and codes I am currently using:
index.php
<form>
<input type="text" id="search" class="search" data-js="form-text"
placeholder="Search Over 100+ Resources..." autocomplete="off">
<button type="submit" class="Button" value="Submit"><i class="fa fa-
search"></i></button>
<div id="display"></div>
<div id="no-results" style="display:none"><ul><li id='hover'>No matches
found</li></ul></div>
</form>
ajax.php
<?php
//Including Database configuration file.
include "db.php";
//Getting value of "search" variable from "script.js".
if (isset($_GET['search'])) {
//Search box value assigning to $Name variable.
$Name = $_GET['search'];
//Search query.
$Query = "SELECT Name FROM search WHERE Name LIKE '$Name%' LIMIT 5";
//Query execution
$ExecQuery = MySQLi_query($con, $Query);
//Creating unordered list to display result.
echo '<ul>';
//Fetching result from database.
while ($Result = MySQLi_fetch_array($ExecQuery)) {
?>
<!-- Creating unordered list items.
Calling javascript function named as "fill" found in "script.js" file.
By passing fetched result as parameter. -->
<li onclick='fill("<?php echo $Result['Name']; ?>")'>
<a>
<!-- Assigning searched result in "Search box" in "index.php" file. -->
<?php
if ($ExecQuery > "0") {
echo $Result['Name'];
}
else {
echo "<li id='hover'>No matches found</li>";
}
?>
</li></a>
<!-- Below php code is just for closing parenthesis. Don't be confused. -->
<?php
}}
?>
</ul>
script.js
//Getting value from "ajax.php".
function fill(Value) {
//Assigning value to "search" div in "index.php" file.
$('#search').val(Value);
//Hiding "display" div in "index.php" file.
$('#display').hide();
}
$(document).ready(function() {
//On pressing a key on "Search box" in "index.php" file. This function will
be called.
$('#no-results').hide();
$("#search").keyup(function() {
//Assigning search box value to javascript variable named as "name".
$('#display').hide();
$('#no-results').css("display", "none");
var name = $('#search').val();
//Validating, if "name" is empty.
if (name == "") {
//Assigning empty value to "display" div in "index.php" file.
$('#no-results').css("display", "none");
}
//If name is not empty.
else {
//AJAX is called.
$.ajax({
//AJAX type is "Post".
type: "GET",
//Data will be sent to "ajax.php".
url: "ajax.php",
//Data, that will be sent to "ajax.php".
data: {
//Assigning value of "name" into "search" variable.
search: name
},
//If result found, this funtion will be called.
success: function(html) {
//Assigning result to "display" div in "index.php" file.
$("#display").html(html).show();
}
});
}
});
});

Updated
you should check your data that is valid and you have any result from your database query or not, if there is no record then you can print not found data message.
you should check the output of $ExecQuery and set if condition according to that.
let me now your output and result I hope this helps you.
Update ajax.php
Last updated section
echo "<li onclick='fill(`".$Result['Name']."`)'>".$Result['Name']."</li>";
Complete ajax.php
<?php
//Including Database configuration file.
include "db.php";
//Getting value of "search" variable from "script.js".
if (isset($_GET['search'])) {
//Search box value assigning to $Name variable.
$Name = $_GET['search'];
//Search query.
$Query = "SELECT Name FROM search WHERE Name LIKE '$Name%' LIMIT 5";
//Query execution
$ExecQuery = MySQLi_query($con, $Query);
//Creating unordered list to display result.
if ($ExecQuery->num_rows > 0) {
echo "<ul>";
while ($Result = MySQLi_fetch_array($ExecQuery)) {
// use the onclick function that defined in js file. you can use the ` sign in js instead of ' if you needed.
echo "<li onclick='fill(`".$Result['Name']."`)'>".$Result['Name']."</li>";
}
echo "</ul>";
}else{
echo "<ul><li>No Result Found!</li></ul>";
}
}
die();
?>
and your ajax code.
function fill(value) {
console.log(value);
$('#search').val(value);
$('#display').hide();
}
$(document).ready(function() {
//On pressing a key on "Search box" in "index.php" file. This function will be called.
$("#search").keyup(function() {
//Assigning search box value to javascript variable named as "name".
$('#display').hide();
$('#no-results').css("display", "none");
var name = $('#search').val();
//Validating, if "name" is empty.
if (name == "") {
//Assigning empty value to "display" div in "index.php" file.
$('#no-results').css("display", "block");
}
//If name is not empty.
else {
//AJAX is called.
$.ajax({
//AJAX type is "Post".
type: "GET",
//Data will be sent to "ajax.php".
url: "ajax.php",
//Data, that will be sent to "ajax.php".
data: {
//Assigning value of "name" into "search" variable.
search: name
},
//If result found, this funtion will be called.
success: function(html) {
if (html == '<ul><li>No Result Found!</li></ul>') {
$('#no-results').css("display", "block");
}else{
//Assigning result to "display" div in "index.php" file.
$("#display").html(html).show();
}
}
});
}
});
});
change other parts as you need.

AJAX is Asynchronous Javascript and XML. Why send back HTML ?
Pointers
If you're doing this via Ajax I would highly dis-advise sending pure HTML. You should send back some JSON data and handle it accordingly client side.
Use PDO instead of MySQLi
Solution PHP
<?php
include "db.php";
if (isset($_POST['search'])) {
$Name = $_POST['search'];
$Query = "SELECT Name FROM search WHERE Name LIKE '$Name%' LIMIT 5";
$ExecQuery = MySQLi_query($con, $Query);
$res = [];
while ($Result = MySQLi_fetch_array($ExecQuery)) {
$res[] = $Result['Name'];
}
echo json_encode($res);
}
Solution Javascript:
$.ajax({
//AJAX type is "Post".
type: "POST",
//Data will be sent to "ajax.php".
url: "ajax.php",
//Data, that will be sent to "ajax.php".
data: {
//Assigning value of "name" into "search" variable.
search: name
},
//If result found, this funtion will be called.
success: function(data) {
//Assigning result to "display" div in "search.php" file.
const list = JSON.parse(data);
const html = list.length > 0 ?
list.map(name=>{
`<li onclick="${name}">
<a>${name}</a>
</li>`
}).join("") :
`<li>No matches found</li>`
$("#display").html(`<ul>${html}</ul>`).show();
}
});

wp_enqueue_script not working on AJAX called php file

I've got a complicated little problem here.
I'm building a WordPress plugin where I select a "parent" post (of a custom type that I made called 'step') and then an AJAX function shows a new select bar with all of the children of that parent. I do this by outputting the new and elements in the PHP file that's called in the AJAX function. This works, but now I want to repeat the process to run a function from the same JQuery file when this new outputted element is added to the page. (See Javascript code)
Main php plugin file (in a folder within the plugin directory):
<?php
/*
Plugin Name: n8jadams Step by Step Plugin (WIP)
Plugin URI:
Description:
Author: Nathan James Adams
Author URI: http://nathanjamesadams.com
Version: 0.0.1a
*/
//Exit if accessed directly
if(!defined('ABSPATH')) {
exit;
}
//My custom post type, it works fine
require_once(plugin_dir_path(__FILE__).'n8jadams-step-funnel-cpt.php');
require_once(plugin_dir_path(__FILE__).'n8jadams-ajax.php');
//Add my javascript
function n8jadams_init_javascript() {
wp_register_script('n8jadams_javascript', plugin_dir_url(__FILE__).'n8jadams-scripts.js', array('jquery'),'1.1', false);
wp_enqueue_script('n8jadams_javascript');
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'n8jadams_init_javascript');
//Adds a plugin menu to the wordpress sidebar
function n8jadams_add_plugin_menu() {
add_menu_page('', 'Steps Settings', 4, 'steps-settings', 'n8jadams_steps_settings', '');
}
add_action('admin_menu', 'n8jadams_add_plugin_menu');
//The actual function for the menu page
function n8jadams_steps_settings() {
//Access the database and the tables we want
global $wpdb;
$posts = $wpdb->prefix.'posts';
//Get the user id
$user = wp_get_current_user();
$userid = $user->ID;
//Initialize javascript (it works here!)
n8jadams_init_javascript();
/* Get all the parents */
$parentsquery = "
SELECT `ID`, `post_title`
FROM $posts
WHERE `post_author` = $userid
AND `post_parent` = 0
AND `post_status` = 'publish'
AND `post_type` = 'step'
";
$parentsarray = $wpdb->get_results($parentsquery);
?>
<h4>My Forms:</h4>
<select id="parentselect">
<option id="-1"> - Select Your Step Form - </option>
<?php
//output the parents
for($i=0;$i<sizeof($parentsarray);$i++) {
echo '<option id="'.$parentsarray[$i]->ID.'">'.$parentsarray[$i]->post_title.'</option>';
}
?>
</select>
<div id="displayChildren"></div>
<?php
}
?>
Javascript (n8jadams-scripts.js):
(function($){
$('#parentselect').change(function(s) {
var thisID = s.target[s.target.selectedIndex].id;
var outputDisplay = document.getElementById('displayChildren');
if(thisID != '-1') {
$.ajax({
type: 'POST',
url: 'admin-ajax.php',
data: {
action: 'n8jadams_get_children',
id: thisID
},
success: function(response){
if(response == "") {
outputDisplay.textContent = "This form has no children. Add them in the sidebar menu of this step form.";
} else {
outputDisplay.innerHTML = response;
}
},
error: function(errorThrown) {
alert(errorThrown);
}
});
} else {
outputDisplay.textContent = '';
}
});
// I want this function to work
/*
$('#childselect').change(function(t) {
console.log("test");
});
*/
})(jQuery);
PHP file called by AJAX (n8jadams-ajax.php):
<?php
function n8jadams_get_children() {
//Get the id of the parent
$parent_post_id = $_POST['id'];
//Sanitize the input (Added after question was answered)
$parent_post_id = preg_replace("/[^0-9]/","",$parent_post_id);
//Access database
global $wpdb;
$posts = $wpdb->prefix.'posts';
$user = wp_get_current_user();
$userid = $user->ID;
$childrenquery = "
SELECT `ID`, `post_title`,`post_content`
FROM $posts
WHERE `post_parent` = $parent_post_id
AND `post_status` = 'publish'
AND `post_type` = 'step'
AND `post_author` = $userid
";
//Retrieve the children associated with this parent
$childrenarray = $wpdb->get_results($childrenquery);
//Initialize Javascript (it doesn't work here!)
n8jadams_init_javascript();
if(!empty($childrenarray)) { ?>
<h4>My Steps:</h4>
<select id="childselect">
<option id="-1"> - Select Your Step - </option>
<?php
//output the children of the parent
for($i=0;$i<sizeof($childrenarray);$i++) {
echo '<option id="'.$childrenarray[$i]->ID.'">'.$childrenarray[$i]->post_title.'</option>';
} ?>
</select>
<?php wp_die();
}
}
add_action('wp_ajax_n8jadams_get_children', 'n8jadams_get_children');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_n8jadams_get_children', 'n8jadams_get_children');
?>
Screenshot of Plugin Menu
I cannot figure out why my javascript file isn't working in the PHP file that's called by AJAX. Maybe the vast wisdom of the StackOverflow can help me. Thanks for the help in advance. :)

You are hooking into wp_enqueue_scripts, which is only run for the frontend of Wordpress (the part the average visitor sees). If you want to load a script into wp-admin, the backend of Wordpress, use the admin_enqueue_scripts action.
Since this code does not work in /wp-admin/, you don't need to use admin_enqueue_scripts. I guess the whole problem would be that you are attaching a handler to $('#childselect'), while no such element exists on the page at that time. Use deferring with $(..).on(..):
$(document).on('change', '#childselect', function(e) {
//Black magic
});
Side note: As already mentioned in the comments, the following part contains an unsanitised variable which will allow an attacker to perform sql injections.
$childrenquery = "
SELECT `ID`, `post_title`,`post_content`
FROM $posts
WHERE `post_parent` = $parent_post_id
AND `post_status` = 'publish'
AND `post_type` = 'step'
AND `post_author` = $userid
";
Use WP_Query if at all possible. If this is only used from the backend of Wordpress, don't use wp_ajax_nopriv_*, because users that are not logged in into your site have no right to use that anyway.

Ajax not submitting $_Post

I have this section of code that is suppose to get the Values of the input fields and then add them to the database. The collection of the values works correctly and the insert into the database works correctly, I am having issue with the data posting. I have narrowed it down to the data: and $__POST area and im not sure what I have done wrong.
JS Script
$("#save_groups").click( function() {
var ids = [];
$.each($('input'), function() {
var id = $(this).attr('value');
//Put ID in array.
ids.push(id);
console.log('IDs'+ids);
});
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: "inc/insert.php",
data: {grouparray: ids },
success: function() {
$("#saved").fadeOut('slow');
console.log('Success on ' + ids);
}
});
});
PHP Section
<?php
include ('connect.php');
$grouparray = $_POST['grouparray'];
$user_ID = '9';
$sql = "INSERT INTO wp_fb_manager (user_id, group_id) VALUES ($user_ID, $grouparray)";
$result=mysql_query($sql);
if ($result === TRUE) {
echo "New records created successfully";
} else {
echo "Error: " . $sql . "<br>" . mysql_error();
}
?>

You cannot send an array trough an ajax call.
First, use something like:
var idString = JSON.stringify(ids);
And use it: data: {grouparray: idString },
On the PHP side:
$array = json_decode($_POST['grouparray']);
print_r($array);

Array json between ajax and php

I'm developing a simple guestbook and I want to update the table with all messages without refreshing the page because if someone it's writing a comment and the page refreshes the comment will be lost.
So I began writing some code with ajax to update the table but I don't know how to send an array (with comment, username, date ecc) from php to ajax.
In the database I have a column named "wrote" and it can be 0 (unread) or 1 (read). 1 it's when the messages it's already on the table.
This is what I've done since now, maybe it's wrong
getGuest.php
<?php
include("Database.php");
$Database = new Database( "localhost", "root", "1234");
$Database->connectToServer();
$Database->connectToDatabase("test");
$result = $Database->unreadMessages();
$rows=mysql_fetch_array($result);
echo json_encode($rows);
?>
Script.js
window.onload = function(){
interval = window.setInterval('updateGuest()',5000);
}
function updateGuest() {
$.ajax({
url: 'getGuest.php',
method: 'get',
success: on_getGuest_success,
error: on_error
});
}
function on_getGuest_success(data) {
for(var i=0; i<data.length;i++) {
// HERE I WANT TO ADD A ROW WITH ALL MESSAGE UNREAD BUT I DONT KNOW WHAT I HAVE TO DO
}
}
function on_error() {
//do something
}

Make sure the JSON contains an array
Add headers
use getJSON
Like this:
PHP
$data = array();
while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)) {
$data[] = $row;
}
header("content-type: application/json");
echo json_encode($data);
JS:
$(function() { // when page has loaded
var tId = setInterval(function() { // save the tId to allow to clearTimeout if needed
$.getJSON("getGuest.php",function(data) { // call the server using jQuery's JSON access
$('.guestbook').empty(); // empty the container
var rows = []; // create an array to hold the rows
$.each(data,function(_,item) { // loop over the returned data adding rows to array
rows.push('<tr><td class="name" width="10%">' + item.name + '</td></tr>');
});
$('.guestbook').html(rows.join()); // insert the array as a string
});
},5000); // every 5 secs
});
I would personally only return what was new since last time

.ajax() isn't posting to php database query

This has been an ongoing issue for me. You all have already helped so much. However, I am stuck again. I cannot get my .ajax() to run. For some reason the .click() won't even work without if(field != text) above my .ajax() call, but I digress.
My question is: Why is my ajax() not functioning properly and if this gets fixed will the table is have displayed update after the query is sent to the database without a page refresh?
Here is my script:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function()
{
$(".edit_td").click(function()
{
$(this).children(".text").hide();
$(this).children(".editbox").show();
}).children('.editbox').change(function()
{
var id=$(this).closest('tr').attr('id');
var field=$(this).data('field');
var text=$(this).val();
var dataString = 'id= '+ id +'&field= '+ field +'&text= '+ text;
alert("made variables");
if(field != text)
{
alert("in if");
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: "table_edit_ajax.php",
data: dataString,
cache: false,
success: function(html)
{
$("#first_"+ID).html(first);
$("#last_"+ID).html(last);
}
});
}
else
{
alert('Enter something.');
}
});
// Edit input box click action
$(".editbox").mouseup(function()
{
return false
});
// Outside click action
$(document).mouseup(function()
{
$(".editbox").hide();
$(".text").show();
});
});
</script>
Here is my table_edit_ajax.php
<?php
//connect to DB
$con = mysqli_connect(DB_HOST, DB_USER, DB_PASS, DB_NAME);
echo 'in table_edit';
$id = mysqli_escape_String($_POST['id']);
$table = "owners";
$field = mysqli_escape_String($_POST['field']);
$text = mysqli_escape_String($_POST['text']);
$query = "UPDATE ".$table." SET ".$field."='".$text."' WHERE ".$table."_id = '".$id."'";
mysqli_query($query);
//close connection
mysqli_close($con);
?>

The first argument to all mysqli functions is the connection, statement, or result object.
$id = mysqli_escape_String($con, $_POST['id']);
$table = "owners";
$field = $_POST['field'];
$text = mysqli_escape_String($con, $_POST['text']);
$query = "UPDATE ".$table." SET ".$field."='".$text."' WHERE ".$table."_id = '".$id."'";
mysqli_query($con, $query);
$field shouldn't be escaped, since it's not a string value. Therefore, you need to validate it carefully, to prevent SQL injection. Perhaps instead of allowing the client to submit the field name to update, have them submit an integer, which you look up in an array to convert to a field name.
In your AJAX call, you may have a problem due to not encoding your parameters properly. Change the dataString assignment to:
var dataString = { id: id, field: field, text: text };
Then jQuery will encode it for you.

you are sending a data string
var dataString = 'id= '+ id +'&field= '+ field +'&text= '+ text;
and retrieving it through $_POST.
first check what is in $_POST
and use $_GET instead of $_POST
and change post in ajax to get
and what is first and last in success callback??