jQuery.post not receiving errors from php script

Question

I know this has been asked before and I have looked at every post I could find that deals with this. I still cannot get the jQuery.post function to correctly receive the error from a php script. Here are both.
PHP:

<?php 
##CONFIGURATION
# LIST EMAIL ADDRESS
$toemail = "email here";

# SUBJECT (Subscribe/Remove)
$subject = "Someone has contacted International Designs";

# RESULT PAGE
$location = "../thank-you.php";

## FORM VALUES ##
$myname = $_REQUEST['myname'];
$myemail = $_REQUEST['myemail'];
$mymessage = $_REQUEST['mymessage'];

if ( empty($myname) || empty($myemail) || empty($mymessage) ) {

    exit('{"error":"That value was invalid!"}')

} else {

    # SENDER
    $email = $myname . " <" . $myemail . ">";

    # MAIL BODY
    $body .= "Name: " . $myname . " \n\n";
    $body .= "Email: " . $myemail . " \n\n";
    $body .= "Message: " . $mymessage . " \n\n";
    # add more fields here if required

    ## SEND MESSGAE ##

    mail( $toemail, $subject, $body, "From: $email" ) or die ("Mail could not be sent.");

}

?>

JS:

if (verify(myname, myemail, mymessage, human, hash, patt)) {
  $.post(myform.attr('action'), myform.serialize(), function() {
    $('#email-success').fadeIn();
    myform[0].reset();
    setTimeout("$('#email-success').fadeOut();", 5000);
  }, 'json')
  .fail(function() {
    alert('An error has occurred. Please try again later.')
  });
}

I have tried about 5 different methods already, none of which have worked. When I put 'json' as the datatype in the .post function the .fail always fires, no matter what's in the php script. If I leave datatype out, then .fail never fires under any circumstance. I have a feeling the problem is with the php commands and datatype. Any help is appreciated.

Have you checked what is the actual response of the php script? Use some tool like firebug for example. — Eggplant
– Eggplant, Commented May 17, 2013 at 8:03
Thanks for the tip Eggplant about Firebug. It does give insight. Help me understand, pls. If I completely remove the data string from the .post function, what kind of data is .post expecting to return from the php script? Another thing, when I try to set the header to code 400, firebug is telling me that I cannot change the header. That might be because I am not leaving the page when I submit the form, but am using the post function in jquery instead and showing divs to communicate with the user. — preahkumpii
– preahkumpii, Commented May 17, 2013 at 8:20
Starting from the easiest: make sure you set the headers before any other output in the php script, this will fix the headers can't be modified issue. The .post handler is expecting the PHP script to return some data in the dataType you specify, in this case some JSON. If nothing is returned, it should not be an issue, a 200 status is returned and it's enough. But again, check with firebux what is happening under the hood. You might return a conventinoal confirmation JSON like {"response":"ok"} if you like. — Eggplant
– Eggplant, Commented May 17, 2013 at 8:37

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:27:11Z

2

Perhaps it's because you don't change the http header code of your response and don't specify your data type response.

You're php code response to front (jQuery) code with a "200 – OK" status in any case, but you expect an error in some case with an 'HTTP/1.0 400 – Bad Request' response Or a 'HTTP/1.0 500 Internal Server Error'.

And, like say Eggplant, you have to specify your response data type as 'Content-Type: application/json'.

So, the final code would be something like this :

<?php 
...

header('HTTP/1.0 204 – No Content', true, 204);
header('Content-Type: application/json');

if ( empty($myname) || empty($myemail) || empty($mymessage) ) {

    header('HTTP/1.0 400 – Bad Request', true, 400);
    exit('{"error":"That value was invalid!"}')

} else {

    ...

    $send = mail( $toemail, $subject, $body, "From: $email" );
    if (!$send)
        header('HTTP/1.0 500 – Internal Server Error', true, 500);
        exit ('{"error":"Mail could not be sent."}');
    }
}
return;
?>

For the Warning Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /homepages/.../design/contact.php:1) you can examine this answer on the same problem.

Output can be:

Unintentional:
- Whitespace before
- UTF-8 Byte Order Mark
- Previous error messages or notices
Intentional:
- print, echo and other functions producing output (like var_dump)
- Raw areas before

Update after chat session : it's was a UTF-8 BOM problem

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:27

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered May 17, 2013 at 8:04

palmplam

7079 silver badges20 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

11 Comments

Eggplant Over a year ago

Yep, this is the cause why the .fail handler is never called under any circumstances. About the other part of the problem, it would be necessary to set the correct content-type header like header('Content-Type: application/json');, but it seems nothing is returned by the script in case of success.

preahkumpii Over a year ago

When I implement this, Firebug shows an error that Headers cannot be modified.

palmplam Over a year ago

@Eggplant : a header set with a 204 code will solve the no return case

palmplam Over a year ago

@preahkumpii You have to call the header() function before any return to view (or any print), that why you have this warning. Did you print data before the call of this function ?

preahkumpii Over a year ago

This advice was sound. My problem was the UTF-8 file had the BOM. This was causing the headers cannot be modified error. Thanks @palmplam

|

Khairu Aqsara · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-17 08:13:47Z

0

try this

if (verify(myname, myemail, mymessage, human, hash, patt)) {
    $.ajax({
        type    :'POST',
        data    :$("#myformid").serialize(),
        beforeSend:function(){

        },
        success:function(res){
            if(res=='ok'){
                setTimeout("$('#email-success').fadeOut();", 5000);
            }else{
                //read respon from server
                alert(res)
            }
        },
        error:function(){
            //error handler
        }
    });
}

and just example

$send = mail(....);//your mail function here
echo ($send) ? "ok" : "Error";

answered May 17, 2013 at 8:13

Khairu Aqsara

1,3103 gold badges14 silver badges29 bronze badges

1 Comment

preahkumpii Over a year ago

I tried your answer too. It didn't work either. Not sure why.

Starx · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-17 08:39:52Z

0

Although, yours is a valid JSON data, I always recommend to use json_encode() function to create JSON string.

exit(json_encode(array("error" => "That value was invalid!")));

Another is make sure you send correct headers to ensure the script knows its a json data. So

header('Content-Type: application/json');
exit(json_encode("error" => "That value was invalid!"));

edited May 17, 2013 at 8:39

answered May 17, 2013 at 8:09

Starx

79.3k50 gold badges187 silver badges266 bronze badges

4 Comments

preahkumpii Over a year ago

When I did this, I received an error in firebug saying there word improperly formed >>.

Eggplant Over a year ago

Try this: exit(json_encode(array("error" => "That value was invalid!")));

Starx Over a year ago

@preahkumpii, That was a typo sorry. Fixed

preahkumpii Over a year ago

@Eggplant, I tried your solution and I get a cannot modify header error.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

jQuery.post not receiving errors from php script

3 Answers 3

11 Comments

1 Comment

4 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

11 Comments

1 Comment

4 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related