Retrieve a JSON object by making a request to a URL with specific parameters

Question

Retrieve a JSON object by making a request to a URL with specific parameters

Struggling with a common coder's mental block:

The idea:

Imagine entering a URL like www.mysite.com/getStuff?name=Jerry&occupation=Engineer&Id=12345

Rather than receiving a webpage, the goal is to get back a json object for parsing on another page.

The challenge:

Although achievable through calling an MVC controller with parameters and returning a json object, what if the task involves creating that json object within a js file using URL parameters?

The questions:

Can JavaScript files receive parameters and return json objects? Or can a controller call a JavaScript file with parameters, then retrieve a json object? Is it necessary to call a controller through a URL, or could a javascript file be called with URL parameters to generate and return the json?

How should this scenario be handled effectively using MVC, JavaScript, jQuery... any advice?

Appreciate your insights!

javascript jquery json model-view-controller

Answer 1

Answer №1

There are a few different routes you can take

1) Generating the JSON using JavaScript

In order to do this, you will need to set up a basic webpage that includes a JavaScript JSON encoder (like https://github.com/douglascrockford/JSON-js). This page would be hosted at "/getStuff/index.html" and accessed by typing "www.mysite.com/getStuff/?arg=val..." For instance:

<html>
    <head>
        <script src="json.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript">
                    //this function will parse the window.location.search string of ?name=val and
                    //create an object like {'name':'val'}
            var parseUrl = function(urlParams) {
                var retObj = {};
                var urlParameters = null;

                if (!urlParams || urlParams.length == 0) {return retObj}
                if (urlParams.charAt(0) == '?') {
                    urlParameters = urlParams.substring(1);
                }else {
                    urlParameters = urlParams;
                }
                if (urlParameters.length == 0) {return retObj}
                var parameterPairs = urlParameters.split('&');
                var x;
                for (x in parameterPairs) {
                    var parameterPair = parameterPairs[x];
                    parameterPair = parameterPair.split('=');
                    retObj[parameterPair[0]] = parameterPair[1];
                }
                return retObj;
            };
            var createJson = function(){
                var params = parseUrl(window.location.search);
                //do work here
                var retObj = {}; //assume this is the result of the work
                document.print(JSON.stringify(retObj)); //use the included JSON encoder
            };
        </script>
    </head>
    <body onload="createJson();">
    </body>
</html>

2) Utilize an MVC framework

Any MVC framework available will provide access to the search parameters used in the page request. Some may require them to be provided in /function/arg1/arg2 format (such as /getStuff/jerry/engineer/12345, in your case). Others use a more traditional /function/?argName=argVal... approach. Once you have the arguments, it's easy to output them on the page in JSON format (http://php.net/manual/en/book.json.php).

Decision Time

Personally, I would opt for the MVC method since it involves less hassle in obtaining the desired JSON. However, if you're not familiar with an MVC framework (like cake), getting started may be a bit challenging - these frameworks are primarily designed for delivering page content, and configuring them to serve JSON isn't always straightforward.

Answer 2

There are a few different routes you can take

1) Generating the JSON using JavaScript

In order to do this, you will need to set up a basic webpage that includes a JavaScript JSON encoder (like https://github.com/douglascrockford/JSON-js). This page would be hosted at "/getStuff/index.html" and accessed by typing "www.mysite.com/getStuff/?arg=val..." For instance:

<html>
    <head>
        <script src="json.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript">
                    //this function will parse the window.location.search string of ?name=val and
                    //create an object like {'name':'val'}
            var parseUrl = function(urlParams) {
                var retObj = {};
                var urlParameters = null;

                if (!urlParams || urlParams.length == 0) {return retObj}
                if (urlParams.charAt(0) == '?') {
                    urlParameters = urlParams.substring(1);
                }else {
                    urlParameters = urlParams;
                }
                if (urlParameters.length == 0) {return retObj}
                var parameterPairs = urlParameters.split('&');
                var x;
                for (x in parameterPairs) {
                    var parameterPair = parameterPairs[x];
                    parameterPair = parameterPair.split('=');
                    retObj[parameterPair[0]] = parameterPair[1];
                }
                return retObj;
            };
            var createJson = function(){
                var params = parseUrl(window.location.search);
                //do work here
                var retObj = {}; //assume this is the result of the work
                document.print(JSON.stringify(retObj)); //use the included JSON encoder
            };
        </script>
    </head>
    <body onload="createJson();">
    </body>
</html>

2) Utilize an MVC framework

Any MVC framework available will provide access to the search parameters used in the page request. Some may require them to be provided in /function/arg1/arg2 format (such as /getStuff/jerry/engineer/12345, in your case). Others use a more traditional /function/?argName=argVal... approach. Once you have the arguments, it's easy to output them on the page in JSON format (http://php.net/manual/en/book.json.php).

Decision Time

Personally, I would opt for the MVC method since it involves less hassle in obtaining the desired JSON. However, if you're not familiar with an MVC framework (like cake), getting started may be a bit challenging - these frameworks are primarily designed for delivering page content, and configuring them to serve JSON isn't always straightforward.

Answer 3

Answer №2

To extract URL parameters using jQuery, you can add the following code inside a <script> tag before creating the JSON object. The code snippet can be found in this helpful tutorial by LekisS.

$.extend({
  getUrlVars: function(){
    var vars = [], hash;
    var hashes = window.location.href.slice(window.location.href.indexOf('?') + 1).split('&');
    for(var i = 0; i < hashes.length; i++)
    {
      hash = hashes[i].split('=');
      vars.push(hash[0]);
      vars[hash[0]] = hash[1];
    }
    return vars;
  },
  getUrlVar: function(name){
    return $.getUrlVars()[name];
  }
});

// Retrieve URL parameters as an object
var allVars = $.getUrlVars();

// Get URL parameter by name
var byName = $.getUrlVar('name');

In a separate script tag, you should create your JSON object after including the Json2.js plugin for converting objects to JSON format.

With the necessary scripts and variables in place, you can construct a JSON object by referencing the parameters with jQuery. Remember to determine whether you need to convert the JSON data to a string or an object based on the Json2.js functionality.

Now that everything is set up within various scripts, how do you access the JSON object through a URL call?

The solution is straightforward:

Simply create an HTML page containing these scripts, where the final script generates and returns the JSON object. Upload this page to your server and utilize URL parameters like

www.mysite.com/getStuff?para1=value&para2=value2

to retrieve the JSON object.

Answer 4

To extract URL parameters using jQuery, you can add the following code inside a <script> tag before creating the JSON object. The code snippet can be found in this helpful tutorial by LekisS.

$.extend({
  getUrlVars: function(){
    var vars = [], hash;
    var hashes = window.location.href.slice(window.location.href.indexOf('?') + 1).split('&');
    for(var i = 0; i < hashes.length; i++)
    {
      hash = hashes[i].split('=');
      vars.push(hash[0]);
      vars[hash[0]] = hash[1];
    }
    return vars;
  },
  getUrlVar: function(name){
    return $.getUrlVars()[name];
  }
});

// Retrieve URL parameters as an object
var allVars = $.getUrlVars();

// Get URL parameter by name
var byName = $.getUrlVar('name');

In a separate script tag, you should create your JSON object after including the Json2.js plugin for converting objects to JSON format.

With the necessary scripts and variables in place, you can construct a JSON object by referencing the parameters with jQuery. Remember to determine whether you need to convert the JSON data to a string or an object based on the Json2.js functionality.

Now that everything is set up within various scripts, how do you access the JSON object through a URL call?

The solution is straightforward:

Simply create an HTML page containing these scripts, where the final script generates and returns the JSON object. Upload this page to your server and utilize URL parameters like

www.mysite.com/getStuff?para1=value&para2=value2

to retrieve the JSON object.

Retrieve a JSON object by making a request to a URL with specific parameters

Answer №1

Answer №2

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