Debug variable sent by Jquery (AJAX) at PHP code at server

Question

I have a host server at a web-hosting and my PHP file is lodated in a folder at server. From my HTML form, I send some data using Jquery AJAX and I like to view all those variables in my PHP code at server side. My Jquery AJAX code is as follow.

function sendtoServer() {

     $.ajax({
        url: "advertisementdatavalidationatserver.php",
        type: "POST",
        data: $("#landedForm").serialize(), 
        success:  function(ret){

});
}

My PHP code at server is

<?php
$data = array();
$data['error'] = false;

if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {

    if(!isset($_POST['purpose'])){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Purposeerror";
    }

    if(!isset($_POST['type'])){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Typeerror";
    }

    if ($_POST['type'] == "With_RC" || $_POST['type'] == "With_BrickNorcal") { 

        if ($_POST['stories'] == "Stories"){
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Storieserror";        
        }


        if ($_POST['bedrooms'] == "Bedrooms") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Bedroomserror";        
        }

        if ($_POST['bathrooms'] == "Bathrooms") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Bathroomserror";        
        }

    }

    if ($_POST['divs_states'] == "Division") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Divisionerror";        
    }

    if ($_POST['township'] == "Township") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Townshiperror";        
    }

    if ($_POST['price']=="") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Priceerror";        
    }else if (!preg_match('/^\d+$/', $_POST['price']) ) {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Priceinvalid";        
    } 

    if ($_POST['length']=="") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Lengtherror";        
    }else if (!preg_match('/^\d+$/', $_POST['length']) ) {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Lengthinvalid";        
    } 

    if ($_POST['width']=="") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Widtherror";        
    }else if (!preg_match('/^\d+$/', $_POST['width']) ) {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Widthinvalid";        
    }    

    if(!isset($_POST['haveaircon'])){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Airconerror";
    }

    if ($_POST['possession'] == "Possession") {        
            $data['error'] = true;
            $data['message'][] = "Possessionerror";        
    }

    if($_POST['date']==""){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Dateerror";
    }

    if($_POST['textarea'] == "Please enter additional information here..." || $_POST['textarea'] ==""){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Textareaerror";
    }

    if(!isset($_POST['agentowner'])){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Agentownererror";
    }

    if($_POST['name'] == ""){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Nameerror";
    }

    if($_POST['phone'] == ""){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Phoneerror";
    }else if((strlen($_POST['phone']) < 6) || !preg_match('/^\d+$/', $_POST['phone'])){
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Phoneinvalid";
    }

    if(!isset($_POST['email']) || empty($_POST['email'])){ 
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Emailrequired";
    }else if(!filter_var($_POST["email"], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
        $data['error'] = true;
        $data['message'][] = "Emailinvalid";
    }

    if(!$data['error']){
        // No errors, save into database

        $con = mysql_connect("localhost","thitsun_admin","z4iufn8n##");

        if (!$con)
        {
           $data['error'] = true;
           $data['message'][] = "Connectionerror";
           die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
        }else{

           mysql_select_db("thitsun_properties_database", $con);

           $purpose = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['purpose']);           
           $type = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['type']);
           $stories = NULL;
           $bedrooms = NULL;
           $bathrooms = NULL;
           if ($_POST['type'] == "With_RC" || $_POST['type'] == "With_BrickNorcal") { 
                $stories = intval($_POST['stories']);
                $bedrooms = intval($_POST['bedrooms']);
                $bathrooms = intval($_POST['bathrooms']);
           }
           $divs_states = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['divs_states']);
           $township = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['township']);
           $price = intval($_POST['price']);
           $length = intval($_POST['length']);
           $width = intval($_POST['width']);

           if($_POST['haveaircon'] == "yes")
               $haveaircon = "yes";
           else
               $haveaircon = "no";
           if($_POST['havetelephone'] == "yes")
               $havetelephone = "yes";
           else
               $havetelephone = "no";

           $possession = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['possession']);
           $date = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['date']);
           $textarea = null;
           if($_POST['textarea'] != "Please enter additional information here..." || $_POST['textarea'] != ""){ 
              $textarea = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['textarea']);
           }

           $agentowner = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['agentowner']);
           $name = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['name']);
           $phone = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['phone']);
           $email = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['email']);

           $address = NULL;
           if($_POST['address'] != "Please key in full address if you are ok..." || $_POST['address'] != ""){ 
              $address = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['address']);
           }          

           $query = "INSERT INTO `thitsun_properties_database`.`registered_properties`(`id`, `purpose`, `type`, `num_stories`, `bedrooms`, `bathrooms`, `div_state`, `township`, `price`, `length`, `width`, `have_phone`, `have_aircon`, `possession`, `available_date`, `description`, `agentowner`, `name`, `phone`, `email`, `address`, `submitteddate`) VALUES (NULL,'$purpose', '$type','$stories', '$bedrooms', '$bathrooms', '$divs_states', '$township', '$price', '$length', '$width', '$havetelephone', '$haveaircon', '$possession', '$date', '$textarea', '$agentowner', '$name', '$phone', '$email', '$address',CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);";
   // `id`, `purpose`, `type`, `num_stories`, `bedrooms`, `bathrooms`, `div_state`, `township`, `price`, `length`, `width`, `have_phone`, `have_aircon`, `possession`, `available_date`, `description`, `agentowner`, `name`, `phone`, `email`, `address`, //`submitteddate`


    //'$purpose', '$type','$stories', '$bedrooms', '$bathrooms', '$divs_states', '$township', '$price', '$length', '$width', '$havetelephone', '$haveaircon', '$possession', '$date', '$textarea', '$agentowner', '$name', '$phone', '$email', //'$address',CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
           if(mysql_query($query,$con) or die("Insertion Failed:".mysql_error()))
           {
              if(mysql_affected_rows($con)!=1){
                 $data['error'] = true;
                 $data['message'][] = "Connectionerror";
              }
           }

            mysql_close($con);
        }

    }
}

// then echo the $data array you have built as JSON to use in jquery. 
//This will be what is returned in your AJAX request
header('Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8');
echo json_encode($data);
?>

I like to debug all these variables like $name, $email, $phone before they are put into database. Of course, I can check once they are successfully saved into database. But in some cases, if they can't be saved into database, I need to check what are the value inside these variables.

All discussions said to use print, print_r or echo. I used them, but I don't see any output or frankly is no idea where to see those outputs. I checked in the console (F12), but nothing is there.

My query is I have PHP code in a .php file located in host sever. How can I view the variables sent via AJAX at PHP code?

Thanks

You have to look at your generated html, they are printed there. Call the php url from your browser and you will see the output. — Daniel Higueras, Jan 07 '16 at 14:13
`var_dump($_POST['type']); die();` Do not do this in a prod environment. — Kisaragi, Jan 07 '16 at 14:16
Possible duplicate of [What's the difference between echo, print, and print\_r in PHP?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1647322/whats-the-difference-between-echo-print-and-print-r-in-php) — Abdulla Nilam, Jan 07 '16 at 14:19
@Abdulla No its more complicated that that, he want to know how he can view the data provided on an AJAX call to a server script, so he can see what gets sent to the server on th server — RiggsFolly, Jan 07 '16 at 14:21
@RiggsFolly it was just edited. Check hos edit. Thats y voted. — Abdulla Nilam, Jan 07 '16 at 14:23
@DanielHigueras I know I can view at my HTML using alert or console.log. I just want to check at PHP side before logged into database. I had error saving into database (now solved), if there is a way to view at PHP code I can debug easily. — batuman, Jan 07 '16 at 14:23
If you send variables via AJAX you can echo them in the PHP which will be returned via the AJAX call to the browser. [If you watch the request / response in the browser's console](http://jayblanchard.net/basics_of_jquery_ajax.html) you can see what was input. *Something* tells me that you're trying to do some sort of validation though - if so there are several sound established methods for doing this. You can also debug database issue using the error logs on your server if you're not showing errors. — Jay Blanchard, Jan 07 '16 at 14:25
@batuman I believe installing a debug extension like http://xdebug.org/ can help you debug your variables server side. — Daniel Higueras, Jan 07 '16 at 14:26
[Your script is at risk for SQL Injection Attacks.](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/60174/how-can-i-prevent-sql-injection-in-php) — Jay Blanchard, Jan 07 '16 at 14:28
Please [stop using `mysql_*` functions](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12859942/why-shouldnt-i-use-mysql-functions-in-php). [These extensions](http://php.net/manual/en/migration70.removed-exts-sapis.php) have been removed in PHP 7. Learn about [prepared](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepared_statement) statements for [PDO](http://php.net/manual/en/pdo.prepared-statements.php) and [MySQLi](http://php.net/manual/en/mysqli.quickstart.prepared-statements.php) and consider using PDO, [it's really pretty easy](http://jayblanchard.net/demystifying_php_pdo.html). — Jay Blanchard, Jan 07 '16 at 14:28
@JayBlanchard yes I agree, we can send back using Json to view the returned data from PHP code. I wonder is there any other way? I like to test what Kisaragi suggested below how it does. — batuman, Jan 07 '16 at 14:30
It depends on where you want to do this. BUT, if you use the things I have described above, especially prepared statements, you shouldn't have the problems you're describing. — Jay Blanchard, Jan 07 '16 at 14:33
@Abdulla Its now quite a good concise question now, would you consider removing your DV and close flag now! — RiggsFolly, Jan 07 '16 at 14:49

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 07 '16 at 14:27

The way I do this is to write the output of a print_r($_POST) to a file on the server because as you say there is no console or window that you can see the data coming into the server script that services your AJAX call

<?php
$data = array();
$data['error'] = false;

if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    file_put_contents('somefilename.txt', print_r($_POST,true), FILE_APPEND);

    // your other code

Using the FILE_APPEND option will add each call to the end of your file so you can check changes made in the javascript(AJAX) code with each change you make there

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:31

print, echo, print_r, var_dump and other print functions output to the viewport - in most cases, this will be the browser.

If your file index.php contains:

<?php echo "Hello, world!" ?>

visiting //index.php will show

Hello, world!

Similarly, if executing via command line, such as > php index.php you'll see the output in the terminal directly.

To see the differences between print, print_r, echo and var_dump, please see this post.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 07 '16 at 14:24

1

Add this in the first few lines of advertisementdatavalidationatserver.php:

var_dump($_POST);
die();

Open web tools (chrome F12 for example) Click 'Network' tab. Make ajax request. Click reaponse. The response will contain a dump of $_POST

answered Jan 07 '16 at 14:24

Kisaragi

2,198
3
16
28

Thanks that makes sense. Let me test. – batuman Jan 07 '16 at 14:26

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 07 '16 at 14:25

Here is a function that logs anything in the error log file of the current directory , if you like to log them in a certain directory just add it before the third argument of error_log

  <?php
    //example of usage
    _log("this is a string");
    _log(array("key",4));


    function _log($msg)
    {
        if(is_string($msg))
        {
            error_log("\n".$msg,3,"error_log");
        }
        else
        {
            error_log("\n".print_r($msg,true),3,"error_log");
        }
    }
    ?>

n2o · Answer 5 · 2016-01-07T14:21:29.433

0

A print intitiated by PHP is interpreted by a webserver like Apache, Nginx, ... . For example you have the file index.php with the following content:

<html>
  <title>Hello World</title>
  <body>
    <?php
      print("Hello, World!");
    ?>
  </body>
</html>

and you add this file into the folder of your webserver, e.g. /var/www/index.php and you access your webserver with your browser, you can see the output of your PHP-prints.

edited Jan 07 '16 at 14:21

answered Jan 07 '16 at 14:16

n2o

6,175
3
28
46

Does it works, if solely PHP code in the server received data sent via AJAX? – batuman Jan 07 '16 at 14:25
You might want to look at this post, where AJAX posts to a PHP scripts are described: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/22179620/sending-data-via-ajax – n2o Jan 07 '16 at 14:32

Debug variable sent by Jquery (AJAX) at PHP code at server

5 Answers5