Passing php array to js as JSON results in Uncaught SyntaxError: missing ) after argument list

Question

I am trying to pass php array to ajax.

When I pass it into the onclick function, I get Uncaught SyntaxError: missing ) after argument list.

When I change only the variable $module the error dissapears.

PHP code :

<?php foreach($this->data AS $module_name => $module): 
        
            if ($module_name == "Descriptions") {
                continue;
            }

        ?>
        <table>
            <thead>
                <tr>
                    <th onclick="loadModule('<?=$module_name?>', '<?=htmlspecialchars(json_encode($module))?>', '<?=json_encode($this)?>')" data-module="<?=$module_name?>" colspan="<?php echo count($this->langs) + 2; ?>"><?= $module_name; ?>

JS function loadModule:

function loadModule(module_name, module, thisObj) {
        console.log("load");

        if (!$(event.target).hasClass("btnEditDesc")) {


            $.ajax({
            url: "<?php echo linkGenerator::getIT()->buildURL('administration/webpage/loadSubmodules.php'); ?>",
            type: "POST",
            dataType: "html",
            data: {
                'thisObj': thisObj,
                'module': module
            },
            beforeSend: function() {
                console.log("before");
            },
            success: function(data) {

                console.log(data);

                // $("tbody['"+ module_name +"']").html(data);

                $(this).parents("table").find("tbody").fadeToggle(200);
                    
            },
            error: function(jqXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {

                console.log(jqXHR);
                console.log(textStatus);
                console.log(errorThrown);

            }
        });


        }

    }

var dump of the module array:

> array (size=2)
  'names' => 
    array (size=7)
      'name' => string 'Names' (length=5)
      'table_name' => string 'dictionary_words_names' (length=22)
      'type' => int 2
      'cols' => null
      'key' => string 'dictionary_word_name_term' (length=25)
      'col_prefix' => string 'dictionary_word_name_' (length=21)
      'data' => 
        array (size=7)
          'en' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_name_en' in 'field list'' (length=90)
          'cs' => 
            array (size=275)
              ...
          'de' => 
            array (size=275)
              ...
          'pl' => 
            array (size=275)
              ...
          'it' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_name_it' in 'field list'' (length=90)
          'fr' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_name_fr' in 'field list'' (length=90)
          'hu' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_name_hu' in 'field list'' (length=90)
  'descriptions' => 
    array (size=7)
      'name' => string 'Descriptions' (length=12)
      'table_name' => string 'dictionary_words_descriptions' (length=29)
      'type' => int 2
      'cols' => null
      'key' => string 'dictionary_word_description_term' (length=32)
      'col_prefix' => string 'dictionary_word_description_' (length=28)
      'data' => 
        array (size=7)
          'en' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_description_en' in 'field list'' (length=97)
          'cs' => 
            array (size=275)
              ...
          'de' => 
            array (size=275)
              ...
          'pl' => 
            array (size=275)
              ...
          'it' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_description_it' in 'field list'' (length=97)
          'fr' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_description_fr' in 'field list'' (length=97)
          'hu' => string 'The query to database has failed. Unknown column 'dictionary_word_description_hu' in 'field list'' (length=97)

I am not good at styling these questions, sorry about that.

Why are you doing this? htmlspecialchars(json_encode($module))? That will change the JSON string and possibly make it invalid JSON. If module needs it you should json_encode(htmlspecialchars($module)). — Jay Blanchard
– Jay Blanchard, Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 12:53
If the error is happening client-side then the first thing you need to do is examine the client-side code, not the server-side code that generates the client-side code. Find what's wrong in the result of your code, that'll help you identify what you might need to change. — David
– David, Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 12:55
$module contains ", ' and other html tags and if I don't use htmlspecialchars and json_encode the array gets printed to the screen because it ends the onclick and th — Matyas Zednicek
– Matyas Zednicek, Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 12:57
What is the point of <?=htmlspecialchars(json_encode($module))?> and <?=json_encode($this)?>, when what your $module contains here is part of $this already? (You are looping over $this->data here to fill $module in the first place.) Why do you need this redudant information? — C3roe
– C3roe, Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 13:06
JavaScript level syntax question: Are you aware what the difference is between foo(["bar", "baz"]) and foo('["bar", "baz"]') …? — C3roe
– C3roe, Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 13:08

Mark · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-13 15:35:28Z

2

One approach could be to pass base 64 encoded string to the html instead of using htmlspecialchars. NOTE: you would also need to base 64 encode the 3rd parameter.

  <th onclick="loadModule('<?=$module_name?>', '<?=base64_encode(json_encode($module))?>', '<?=base64_encode(json_encode($this))?>')" data-module="<?=$module_name?>" colspan="<?php echo count($this->langs) + 2; ?>"><?= $module_name; ?>

And then in the javascript you can use atob to decode the base 64 before parsing the json.

  module = JSON.parse(atob(module));
  thisObj = JSON.parse(atob(thisObj));

answered Aug 13, 2020 at 15:35

Mark

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