Question

How would I search an SQL database when a user makes a selection in a dropdown list. I know how to change/add text to areas using some javascript but not with a SQL search as well.

Ideally I don’t want to be changing pages in this process as I’m thinking they won’t be sticking on a single option in the drop down for long.

Cheers in advance. =)

Answer 1

You have to add an onchange event listener to the dropdown box. When the user selects an option, an AJAX (XmlHttpRequest) should be send to the server. A serverside script, a PHP page for example, should parse the parameters (after checking).

When these parameters have been checked, they should be escaped for this reason. Perform a search query, parse the results, and send the output back to the client (the user, browser).

Useful links:

• http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.mysql.php
• https://developer.mozilla.org/en/xmlhttprequest