Question

I’m using php to create some strings I need to split() with javascript.

example:

<?php
$string = "Apples";
$string .= "|"; // delimiter
$string .= "Oranges";
$string .= "|"; // delimiter
$string .= "Grapes";
?>

and here I split the string with JS:
<script>
var str = <?php echo $string; ?>
var fruitsArray = str.split('|'); 
for(var i=0; i<fruitsArray.length; i++){
 // do stuff here
}
</script>

In this case, the pipe character is the delimiter. But I could use any special character.
My problem is when the $string has a character I use for splitting AND it’s also part of the non-delimiter portion.

For example:

<?php
$string = "Apples";
$string .= "|"; // delimiter
$string .= "Oranges";
$string .= "|"; // delimiter
$string .= "Grapes";
$string .= "|"; // delimiter
$string .= "Berries: blue|black"; // pipe exists, but not meant to be a delimiter
?>

It’s circumstantial only, but does happen to me. My delimiters sometimes find their way into the fruits. (though I am only using fruits as an example)

I feel I need to convert my designated delimiters to another format before javascript gets a hold of it. But I’m not certain.

Anyone know what’s best in this situation?

Answer 1

Try use a more mature way of marshaling variables into javascript. Like json.

To convert a php array to json: http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-encode.php

echo json_encode(array('Apples', 'Oranges'));

To get an array from json in javascript:

• With jQuery: http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.parseJSON/
• or just use eval() in javascript (WARNING: Unsafe – use ONLY if you TRUST the data source – don’t use if the string is user-supplied), or implicitly eval: var fruitArray = <?php echo json_encode(array('Apples', 'Oranges')); ?>;