Question

There are two ways to send the form data through ajax:

1. making query string manually and passed it as ajax posted data. for e.g.

   $.ajax(function(){
       type: 'post',
       data:"val1="+$("#input1").val()+"&val2="+$("#input1").val(),
       .....
   });
   

2. Use $(‘#myForm’).serialize() method for e.g.

   $.ajax(function(){       
       type: 'post',
       data:$("#myForm").serialize(),
       .....
   });
   

What is the key difference between sending the form data through these two ways.

Answer 1

The .serialize() method creates a text string in standard URL-encoded notation. It operates on a jQuery object representing a set of form elements. The form elements can be of several types:

<form>
<div><input type="text" name="a" value="1" id="a" /></div>
<div><input type="text" name="b" value="2" id="b" /></div>
<div><input type="hidden" name="c" value="3" id="c" /></div>
<div>
<textarea name="d" rows="8" cols="40">4</textarea>
</div>
<div><select name="e">
<option value="5" selected="selected">5</option>
<option value="6">6</option>
<option value="7">7</option>
</select></div>
<div>
<input type="checkbox" name="f" value="8" id="f" />
</div>
<div>
<input type="submit" name="g" value="Submit" id="g" />
</div>
</form>

The .serialize() method can act on a jQuery object that has selected individual form elements, such as , , and . However, it is typically easier to select the tag itself for serialization:

$('form').submit(function() {
alert($(this).serialize());
return false;
});

This produces a standard-looking query string:

a=1&b=2&c=3&d=4&e=5