AJAX Grid 210 // clear any output that has already been generated ob_clean(); // output the error message $error_message = 'ERRNO: ' . $errNo . chr(10) . 'TEXT: ' . $errStr . chr(10) . 'LOCATION: ' . $errFile . ', line ' . $errLine; echo $error_message; // prevent processing any more PHP scripts exit; } ?> 7. It's time for the client now. Start by creating index.html: <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>AJAX Grid</title> <script type="text/javascript" src="grid.js"></script> <link href="grid.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet"/> </head> <body onload="init();"> <div id="gridDiv" /> </body> </html> 8. Now let's create the XSLT file named grid.xsl that will be used in the JavaScript code to generate the output: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"> <xsl:template match="/"> <h2>AJAX Grid</h2> <xsl:call-template name="menu"/> <form id="grid_form_id"> <table class="list"> <tr> <th class="th1">ID</th> <th class="th2">Name</th> <th class="th3">Price</th> <th class="th4">Promo</th> <th class="th5"></th> </tr> <xsl:for-each select="data/grid/row"> <xsl:element name="tr"> <xsl:attribute name="id"> <xsl:value-of select="product_id" /> </xsl:attribute> <td><xsl:value-of select="product_id" /></td> <td><xsl:value-of select="name" /> </td> <td><xsl:value-of select="price" /></td> <td> <xsl:choose> <xsl:when test="on_promotion > 0"> <input type="checkbox" name="on_promotion" disabled="disabled" checked="checked"/> </xsl:when> <xsl:otherwise> <input type="checkbox" name="on_promotion" disabled="disabled"/> </xsl:otherwise> </xsl:choose> </td> Chapter 8 <td> <xsl:element name="a"> <xsl:attribute name = "href">#</xsl:attribute> <xsl:attribute name = "onclick"> editId(<xsl:value-of select="product_id" />, true) </xsl:attribute> Edit </xsl:element> </td> </xsl:element> </xsl:for-each> </table> </form> <xsl:call-template name="menu" /> </xsl:template> <xsl:template name="menu"> <xsl:for-each select="data/params"> <table> <tr> <td class="left"> <xsl:value-of select="items_count" /> Items </td> <td class="right"> <xsl:choose> <xsl:when test="previous_page>0"> <xsl:element name="a" > <xsl:attribute name="href" >#</xsl:attribute> <xsl:attribute name="onclick"> loadGridPage(<xsl:value-of select="previous_page"/>) </xsl:attribute> Previous page </xsl:element> </xsl:when> </xsl:choose> </td> <td class="left"> <xsl:choose> <xsl:when test="next_page>0"> <xsl:element name="a"> <xsl:attribute name = "href" >#</xsl:attribute> <xsl:attribute name = "onclick"> loadGridPage(<xsl:value-of select="next_page"/>) </xsl:attribute> Next page </xsl:element> </xsl:when> </xsl:choose> </td> <td class="right"> page <xsl:value-of select="returned_page" /> of <xsl:value-of select="total_pages" /> </td> </tr> </table> </xsl:for-each> </xsl:template> </xsl:stylesheet> 9. Create grid.js: // stores the reference to the XMLHttpRequest object var xmlHttp = createXmlHttpRequestObject(); // the name of the XSLT file var xsltFileUrl = "grid.xsl"; // the file that returns the requested data in XML format var feedGridUrl = "grid.php"; 211 AJAX Grid 212 // the id of the grid div var gridDivId = "gridDiv"; // the grid of the status div var statusDivId = "statusDiv"; // stores temporary row data var tempRow; // the ID of the product being edited var editableId = null; // the XSLT document var stylesheetDoc; // eveything starts here function init() { // test if user has browser that supports native XSLT functionality if(window.XMLHttpRequest && window.XSLTProcessor && window.DOMParser) { // load the grid loadStylesheet(); loadGridPage(1); return; } // test if user has Internet Explorer with proper XSLT support if (window.ActiveXObject && createMsxml2DOMDocumentObject()) { // load the grid loadStylesheet(); loadGridPage(1); // exit the function return; } // if browser functionality testing failed, alert the user alert("Your browser doesn't support the necessary functionality."); } function createMsxml2DOMDocumentObject() { // will store the reference to the MSXML object var msxml2DOM; // MSXML versions that can be used for our grid var msxml2DOMDocumentVersions = new Array("Msxml2.DOMDocument.6.0", "Msxml2.DOMDocument.5.0", "Msxml2.DOMDocument.4.0"); // try to find a good MSXML object for (var i=0; i<msxml2DOMDocumentVersions.length && !msxml2DOM; i++) { try { // try to create an object msxml2DOM = new ActiveXObject(msxml2DOMDocumentVersions[i]); } catch (e) {} } // return the created object or display an error message if (!msxml2DOM) alert("Please upgrade your MSXML version from \n" + "http://msdn.microsoft.com/XML/XMLDownloads/default.aspx"); else return msxml2DOM; } // creates an XMLHttpRequest instance function createXmlHttpRequestObject() { // will store the reference to the XMLHttpRequest object var xmlHttp; Chapter 8 // this should work for all browsers except IE6 and older try { // try to create XMLHttpRequest object xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest(); } catch(e) { // assume IE6 or older var XmlHttpVersions = new Array("MSXML2.XMLHTTP.6.0", "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.5.0", "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.4.0", "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.3.0", "MSXML2.XMLHTTP", "Microsoft.XMLHTTP"); // try every prog id until one works for (var i=0; i<XmlHttpVersions.length && !xmlHttp; i++) { try { // try to create XMLHttpRequest object xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject(XmlHttpVersions[i]); } catch (e) {} } } // return the created object or display an error message if (!xmlHttp) alert("Error creating the XMLHttpRequest object."); else return xmlHttp; } // loads the stylesheet from the server using a synchronous request function loadStylesheet() { // load the file from the server xmlHttp.open("GET", xsltFileUrl, false); xmlHttp.send(null); // try to load the XSLT document if (this.DOMParser) // browsers with native functionality { var dp = new DOMParser(); stylesheetDoc = dp.parseFromString(xmlHttp.responseText, "text/xml"); } else if (window.ActiveXObject) // Internet Explorer? { stylesheetDoc = createMsxml2DOMDocumentObject(); stylesheetDoc.async = false; stylesheetDoc.load(xmlHttp.responseXML); } } // makes asynchronous request to load a new page of the grid function loadGridPage(pageNo) { // disable edit mode when loading new page editableId = false; // continue only if the XMLHttpRequest object isn't busy if (xmlHttp && (xmlHttp.readyState == 4 || xmlHttp.readyState == 0)) { var query = feedGridUrl + "?action=FEED_GRID_PAGE&page=" + pageNo; xmlHttp.open("GET", query, true); xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = handleGridPageLoad; xmlHttp.send(null); } } 213 AJAX Grid 214 // handle receiving the server response with a new page of products function handleGridPageLoad() { // when readyState is 4, we read the server response if (xmlHttp.readyState == 4) { // continue only if HTTP status is "OK" if (xmlHttp.status == 200) { // read the response response = xmlHttp.responseText; // server error? if (response.indexOf("ERRNO") >= 0 || response.indexOf("error") >= 0 || response.length == 0) { // display error message alert(response.length == 0 ? "Server serror." : response); // exit function return; } // the server response in XML format xmlResponse = xmlHttp.responseXML; // browser with native functionality? if (window.XMLHttpRequest && window.XSLTProcessor && window.DOMParser) { // load the XSLT document var xsltProcessor = new XSLTProcessor(); xsltProcessor.importStylesheet(stylesheetDoc); // generate the HTML code for the new page of products page = xsltProcessor.transformToFragment(xmlResponse, document); // display the page of products var gridDiv = document.getElementById(gridDivId); gridDiv.innerHTML = ""; gridDiv.appendChild(page); } // Internet Explorer code else if (window.ActiveXObject) { // load the XSLT document var theDocument = createMsxml2DOMDocumentObject(); theDocument.async = false; theDocument.load(xmlResponse); // display the page of products var gridDiv = document.getElementById(gridDivId); gridDiv.innerHTML = theDocument.transformNode(stylesheetDoc); } } else { alert("Error reading server response.") } } } // enters the product specified by id into edit mode if editMode is true, // and cancels edit mode if editMode is false function editId(id, editMode) { // gets the <tr> element of the table that contains the table var productRow = document.getElementById(id).cells; // are we enabling edit mode? if(editMode) { // we can have only one row in edit mode at one time Chapter 8 if(editableId) editId(editableId, false); // store current data, in case the user decides to cancel the changes save(id); // create editable text boxes productRow[1].innerHTML = '<input class="editName" type="text" name="name" ' + 'value="' + productRow[1].innerHTML+'">'; productRow[2].innerHTML = '<input class="editPrice" type="text" name="price" ' + 'value="' + productRow[2].innerHTML+'">'; productRow[3].getElementsByTagName("input")[0].disabled = false; productRow[4].innerHTML = '<a href="#" ' + 'onclick="updateRow(document.forms.grid_form_id,' + id + ')">Update</a><br/><a href="#" onclick="editId(' + id + ',false)">Cancel</a>'; // save the id of the product being edited editableId = id; } // if disabling edit mode else { productRow[1].innerHTML = document.forms.grid_form_id.name.value; productRow[2].innerHTML = document.forms.grid_form_id.price.value; productRow[3].getElementsByTagName("input")[0].disabled = true; productRow[4].innerHTML = '<a href="#" onclick="editId(' + id + ',true)">Edit</a>'; // no product is being edited editableId = null; } } // saves the original product data before editing row function save(id) { // retrieve the product row var tr = document.getElementById(id).cells; // save the data tempRow = new Array(tr.length); for(var i=0; i<tr.length; i++) tempRow[i] = tr[i].innerHTML; } // cancels editing a row, restoring original values function undo(id) { // retrieve the product row var tr = document.getElementById(id).cells; // copy old values for(var i=0; i<tempRow.length; i++) tr[i].innerHTML = tempRow[i]; // no editable row editableId = null; } // update one row in the grid if the connection is clear function updateRow(grid, productId) { // continue only if the XMLHttpRequest object isn't busy if (xmlHttp && (xmlHttp.readyState == 4 || xmlHttp.readyState == 0)) { var query = feedGridUrl + "?action=UPDATE_ROW&id=" + productId + "&" + createUpdateUrl(grid); xmlHttp.open("GET", query, true); xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = handleUpdatingRow; xmlHttp.send(null); } } 215 AJAX Grid 216 // handle receiving a response from the server when updating a product function handleUpdatingRow() { // when readyState is 4, we read the server response if(xmlHttp.readyState == 4) { // continue only if HTTP status is "OK" if(xmlHttp.status == 200) { // read the response response = xmlHttp.responseText; // server error? if (response.indexOf("ERRNO") >= 0 || response.indexOf("error") >= 0 || response.length == 0) alert(response.length == 0 ? "Server serror." : response); // if everything went well, cancel edit mode else editId(editableId, false); } else { // undo any changes in case of error undo(editableId); alert("Error on server side."); } } } // creates query string parameters for updating a row function createUpdateUrl(grid) { // initialize query string var str = ""; // build a query string with the values of the editable grid elements for(var i=0; i<grid.elements.length; i++) switch(grid.elements[i].type) { case "text": case "textarea": str += grid.elements[i].name + "=" + escape(grid.elements[i].value) + "&"; break; case "checkbox": if (!grid.elements[i].disabled) str += grid.elements[i].name + "=" + (grid.elements[i].checked ? 1 : 0) + "&"; break; } // return the query string return str; } 10. Finally, create grid.css: body { font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 10pt } table { width: 500px; } td.right { Chapter 8 color: darkblue; text-align: right; width: 125px } td.left { color: darkblue; text-align: left; width: 125px } table.list { border: black 1px solid; } th { text-align: left; background-color: navy; color: white } th.th1 { width: 30px } th.th2 { width: 300px } input.editName { border: black 1px solid; width: 300px } input.editPrice { border: black 1px solid; width: 50px } 11. Load http://localhost/ajax/grid in your web browser, and test its functionality to make sure it works as expected (see Figures 8.1 and 8.2 for reference). What Just Happened? Let's dissect the code starting with the server-side functionality. At the heart of the server lies the database. In our case, we have a table called product with the following fields: • product_id is the table's primary key, containing the numeric ID of the product. • name is the product's name. • price is the product's price. • on_promotion is a bit field (should only take values of 0 or 1, although MySQL may permit more, depending on the version), which specifies if the product is on promotion. We used this field for our grid because it allows us to show how to use a checkbox to display the bit value. 217 AJAX Grid 218 As usual on the server, we have a PHP script, which in this case is named grid.php, that is the main access point for all asynchronous client requests. grid.php expects to receive a query string parameter called action that tells it what action it is expected to perform. The possible values are: • FEED_GRID_PAGE: This value is used to retrieve a page of products. Together with this parameter, the server also expects a parameter named page, which specifies what page of products to return. • UPDATE_ROW: This value is used to update the details of a row that was edited by the user. For this action, the server also expects to receive the new values for the product, in four parameters named id, name, price, and on_promotion. To see the data generated by the server, make a simple call to http://localhost/ajax/grid/ grid.php?action=FEED_GRID_PAGE&page=1 . Using the default database information, the output will look like Figure 8.3: Figure 8.3: Server Returning the First Page of Products Chapter 8 On the client, this data will be parsed and transformed to the HTML grid using an XSL transformation. This code was tested with Mozilla and Internet Explorer, which at the time of writing supported the required functionality. Opera is expected to support XSL Transformations starting with version 9. The XSL transformation code is defined in grid.xsl. Please see Appendix C at http://ajaxphp.packtpub.comfor a primer into the world of XSL, and refer one of the many available books and online resources for digging into the details. XSL is a really big subject, so be prepared for a lot of learning if you intend to master it. The first function in the client script, grid.js, is init(). This function checks if the user's browser has the necessary features to perform the XSL transformation: // eveything starts here function init() { // test if user has browser that supports native XSLT functionality if(window.XMLHttpRequest && window.XSLTProcessor && window.DOMParser) { // load the grid loadStylesheet(); loadGridPage(1); return; } // test if user has Internet Explorer with proper XSLT support if (window.ActiveXObject && createMsxml2DOMDocumentObject()) { // load the grid loadStylesheet(); loadGridPage(1); // exit the function return; } // if browser functionality testing failed, alert the user alert("Your browser doesn't support the necessary functionality."); } This function allows continuing if the browser is either Internet Explorer (in which case the user also needs a recent MSXML version), or a browser that natively supports the XMLHttpRequest, XSLTProcessor, and DOMParser classes. The second function that is important to understand is loadStylesheet(). This function is called once when the page loads, to request the grid.xsl file from the server, which is loaded locally. The grid.xls file is loaded using a synchronous call, and then is stored using techniques specific to the user's browser, depending on whether the browser has native functionality, or it is Internet Explorer, in which case an ActiveXObject is used: // loads the stylesheet from the server using a synchronous request function loadStylesheet() { // load the file from the server xmlHttp.open("GET", xsltFileUrl, false); xmlHttp.send(null); // try to load the XSLT document if (this.DOMParser) // browsers with native functionality { var dp = new DOMParser(); stylesheetDoc = dp.parseFromString(xmlHttp.responseText, "text/xml"); } else if (window.ActiveXObject) // Internet Explorer? 219 . xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = handleGridPageLoad; xmlHttp.send(null); } } 213 AJAX Grid 214 // handle receiving the server response with a new page of products function handleGridPageLoad(). xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = handleUpdatingRow; xmlHttp.send(null); } } 215 AJAX Grid 216 // handle receiving a response from the server when updating a product function handleUpdatingRow(). 217 AJAX Grid 218 As usual on the server, we have a PHP script, which in this case is named grid .php, that is the main access point for all asynchronous client requests. grid .php expects