using javascript in PHP

Question

i have this php and js code:

<script type="text/javascript">
function StartScript(script)
{
  <?php require("StartScript.php");  ?>
}
</script>

<a href="#" onclick="StartScript(scriptname);">Start</a>

How can i get the "script" from the javascript function onto the end of the php file?

for example rather than:

<?php require("StartScript.php");  ?>

to have:

<?php require("StartScript.php?script=scriptname");  ?>

What is `scriptname`? You do know the difference between a server-side and a client-side technology? — Jason McCreary, Jul 22 '13 at 20:00
You cannot directly call PHP from JS. You need to look into a technique call AJAX, to do what yoy are trying to do. — marteljn, Jul 22 '13 at 20:01

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 22 '13 at 20:00

1

It's impossible to write server-side code (PHP) with a client-side code (Javascript). This will not work unless you use something like Ajax.

answered Jul 22 '13 at 20:00

Pieter

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im not too great with Ajax,do you know the best way round this? – Jul 22 '13 at 20:01
You can load a PHP script into a HTML with jQuery/Ajax. Just Google it, there are thousands of useful examples. – Pieter Jul 22 '13 at 20:04
@CharlieFord If you want the client code to trigger it, there really isn't one... maybe pop up a new window on `StartScript.php`? – Izkata Jul 22 '13 at 20:04
Little hint: have a look at jQuery's `load()` function. – Pieter Jul 22 '13 at 20:04

David Riccitelli · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-22T20:22:59.623

1

The full excerpt (provided that StartScript.php at the same level of current page, otherwise add absolute path):

<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.10.1.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript">
   function StartScript(script) {
       jQuery.getScript('StartScript.php?script=' + escape(script));
    }
</script>

This will call StartScript.php with the parameter script. StartScript.php will generate the JavaScript code which will be executed in the client browser.

Reference: http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.getScript/

edited Jul 22 '13 at 20:22

answered Jul 22 '13 at 20:01

David Riccitelli

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So where do i put that first bit of code? – Jul 22 '13 at 20:18
on the first bit of code where does it get the ?script=scriptname from? – Jul 22 '13 at 20:20
Try the second one, the first is just for reference. – David Riccitelli Jul 22 '13 at 20:22
will i need these? – Jul 22 '13 at 20:23
yes, you need the jquery one (you might need jquery-ui if you're using it later on). – David Riccitelli Jul 22 '13 at 20:24
have got this code: Start and on the StartScript.php page: There is a row in the database with script = supportemails and run = 'No' but its not changing it – Jul 22 '13 at 20:26
ok, so you don't need jquery-ui. If StartScript.php doesn't have PHP code in it, you could also use jQuery.ajax instead of jQuery.getScript. I suggest you to try it out and eventually review the jQuery documentation (http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.ajax/). – David Riccitelli Jul 22 '13 at 20:29
StartScript.php does have PHP code in it though – Jul 22 '13 at 20:31
ok, so use `jQuery.ajax('StartScript.php?script=' + escape(script))`. Pay attention to put quotes around `'supportemails'`. – David Riccitelli Jul 22 '13 at 20:32
Database still isn't changing :/ – Jul 22 '13 at 20:36
if i make it jQuery.ajax('StartScript.php?script=supportemails'); that works fine – Jul 22 '13 at 20:37
Ok, check this ``, it must be `` (see the apostrophes around `supportemails`. – David Riccitelli Jul 22 '13 at 20:38

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 22 '13 at 20:04

Maybe I misunderstood your question but this seems pretty easy...I would include all the js in the php file so the html side of things would have only....

<?
$script = "Page1";
include("StartScript.php");
?>

and the php would be...

<? if ($script == "Page1"){ ?>
function StartScript(script)
{
  alert("IN");
}
</script>
<? } ?>

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 22 '13 at 20:25

The problem is that you're mixing up the client (JS) and the server (PHP). PHP is executed on the server and produces some HTML which gets sent to the browser ("the client"). Browsers cannot run PHP because it's a server-side language.

You should evaluate what the desired interaction is between the client and the server here. For example, if you just need to execute some PHP to pass data to JavaScript, you can build up a JavaScript object:

<script type="text/javascript">
    <?php // include script that gives you back some data, e.g.: ?>    
    <?php $somePhpData = array('red', 'yellow', 'blue'); ?>
    <?php $jsonData = json_encode($somePhpData); ?>
    var dataFromPhpScript = <?php echo $jsonData; ?>
    // do something with the data
</script>

Otherwise, if you really need JavaScript to trigger a PHP script running, you're essentially doing AJAX. You'll likely want some sort of REST API. The idea is that you expose a URL from PHP that the JavaScript can call:

<script type="text/javascript">    
    jQuery(document).ready(function() {     
        function startScript(scriptName, success) {        
                $.get('/path/StartScript.php?script-name=' + scriptName)
                .done(success)
                .fail(fail);
        }           
        startScript('name-of-php-script', function(data) {
            // trigger some JavaScript that relies on the output of the PHP script
        });         
    });
</script>

using javascript in PHP

4 Answers4