CrowdforGeeks | Build Skills with Online Courses from Top Institutions

AJAX is used to create more interactive applications.

Here is the HTML code:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<h1>The XMLHttpRequest Object</h1>

<h3>Start typing a name in the input field below:</h3>

<form action=""> 
First name: <input type="text" id="txt1" onkeyup="showHint(this.value)">
</form>

<p>Suggestions: <span id="txtHint"></span></p> 

<script>
function showHint(str) {
  var xhttp;
  if (str.length == 0) { 
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = "";
    return;
  }
  xhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
  xhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
    if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
      document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = this.responseText;
    }
  };
  xhttp.open("GET", "gethint.php?q="+str, true);
  xhttp.send();   
}
</script>

</body>
</html>

Code explanation:

First, check if the input field is empty (str.length == 0). If it is, clear the content of the txtHint placeholder and exit the function.

However, if the input field is not empty, do the following:

Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a PHP file (gethint.php) on the server
Notice that q parameter is added gethint.php?q="+str
The str variable holds the content of the input field

The PHP File - "gethint.php"

The PHP file checks an array of names, and returns the corresponding name(s) to the browser:

<?php
// Array with names
$a[] = "Anna";
$a[] = "Brittany";
$a[] = "Cinderella";
$a[] = "Diana";
$a[] = "Eva";
$a[] = "Fiona";
$a[] = "Gunda";
$a[] = "Hege";
$a[] = "Inga";
$a[] = "Johanna";
$a[] = "Kitty";
$a[] = "Linda";
$a[] = "Nina";
$a[] = "Ophelia";
$a[] = "Petunia";
$a[] = "Amanda";
$a[] = "Raquel";
$a[] = "Cindy";
$a[] = "Doris";
$a[] = "Eve";
$a[] = "Evita";
$a[] = "Sunniva";
$a[] = "Tove";
$a[] = "Unni";
$a[] = "Violet";
$a[] = "Liza";
$a[] = "Elizabeth";
$a[] = "Ellen";
$a[] = "Wenche";
$a[] = "Vicky";

// get the q parameter from URL
$q = $_REQUEST["q"];

$hint = "";

// lookup all hints from array if $q is different from ""
if ($q !== "") {
    $q = strtolower($q);
    $len=strlen($q);
    foreach($a as $name) {
        if (stristr($q, substr($name, 0, $len))) {
            if ($hint === "") {
                $hint = $name;
            } else {
                $hint .= ", $name";
            }
        }
    }
}

// Output "no suggestion" if no hint was found or output correct values
echo $hint === "" ? "no suggestion" : $hint;
?>