Problems with Ajax POST and Send

Like others before me, I too have a problem with Ajax POST method and Send. I have set up a Site Search using the Google Ajax Search API, and it works fine. The search term is stored in the variable (?) [COLOR=”red”]query[/COLOR]. Just to make sure, I have set up a new variable ([COLOR=”red”]searchTerm[/COLOR]) to read the value of [COLOR=”red”]query[/COLOR], and a temporary Alert box shows that this variable does indeed contain the search term.

I want to store the search terms in a database so I can see what people are searching for. So I set up a POST method to send the [COLOR=”Red”]searchTerm[/COLOR] to a php file, which uses [COLOR=”Red”]if (isset($_POST[‘searchTerm’]))[/COLOR] to obtain the [COLOR=”red”]searchTerm[/COLOR] and then insert it into a MYSQL database. But it doesn’t work.

When I couldn’t insert into the database, I added a second (temporary) insert using a dummy value as the [COLOR=”red”]else[/COLOR] part of the above [COLOR=”red”]if[/COLOR] statement, to test (1) if the Ajax file was actually setting the php file going, and (2) to check my Insert code was working. Both work.

So the problem is clearly that either the Ajax code doesn’t Send correctly, or the php isn’t receiving it. I am stumped to find what is wrong. Here are the two relevant sections of code:

[QUOTE]

//Ajax section
var request = false;
try {
request = new XMLHttpRequest();
} catch (trymicrosoft) {
try {
request = new ActiveXObject(“Msxml2.XMLHTTP”);
} catch (othermicrosoft) {
try {
request = new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
} catch (failed) {
request = false;
alert(“fail”);
}

}
}

if (!request) {
return;
}

var url = “http://URL/insertSearch.php“;
request.open(“POST”, url, true);
var searchTerm = query;
alert(searchTerm);
request.send(searchTerm);

[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]

/*PHP section */
$link = mysqli_connect(‘localhost’, ‘USERNAME’, ‘Password’, ‘DBNAME’);
mysqli_set_charset($link, ‘utf8’);

if (isset($_POST[‘searchTerm’]))
{
$searchterm = mysqli_real_escape_string($link, $_POST[‘searchTerm’]);
mysqli_query($link, “INSERT INTO searches (SearchTerm, Date) VALUES(‘$searchterm’,CURDATE())”);
mysqli_close($link);
exit();
} else {
$searchterm = mysqli_real_escape_string($link, ‘dummy’);
mysqli_query($link, “INSERT INTO searches (SearchTerm, Date) VALUES(‘$searchterm’,CURDATE())”);
mysqli_close($link);
exit();
}

[/QUOTE]

To repeat, the php is running and always loads the dummy variable from the [COLOR=”red”]else[/COLOR] section, indicating that [COLOR=”Red”]isset($_POST[‘searchTerm’])[/COLOR] is null. I’m sure it’s something simple I am overlooking, but assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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