get json data back from ajax call

Question

my question is: How can my php script send json type data and received back into the success or complete function?

I was trying to get this chatfunction to work on m

Answer 1

Richard, you should look into the json_encode() function in PHP. It will convert your array to JSON quickly, and keep you from having to deal with the smaller nuances of JSON syntax with large amounts of data.

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Update: Modified Code

<?php

    session_start(); 
    $_SESSION['username'] = "johndoe" ;// Must be already set

?>

<script type="text/javascript" src="includes/jquery.js"></script>
<script language="JavaScript">
$(document).ready(function(){

    $("#testjson").click(function(e){
        startJsonSession();
        return false;
    });

    function startJsonSession(){  
        $.ajax({
            url: "jsontest.php?action=startjson",
            cache: false,
            dataType: "json",
            complete: function(data) {
                username = data.username;
                alert(username);
            }

        });
    }

}); 
</script>

<?php

    if ($_GET['action'] == "startjson") { 
        startjsonSession(); 
    } 

    function startjsonSession() {
        $items = '';

        print json_encode(array(
            "username" => "bob",
            "items" => array(
                "item1" => "sandwich",
                "item2" => "applejuice"
            )
        ));
    }
?>