How to return an array from an AJAX call

Question

I'm having the PHP file return an array, and have it come out client-side as a Javascript array. Here is what I have been doing this:

PHP File (Example.php):

<?php
    $id_numbers = array('NES-ZL','NES-AL','SNS-ZL');

    for ($i=0; $i<count($the_array); $i++){
        echo $id_numbers[$i];
        echo '|';
    }
?>

JS File:

id_numbers = new Array();
$.ajax({
    url:"Example.php",
    type:"POST",
    success:function(msg){
        id_numbers = msg.split('|');
    }
});

My current method is just a little too convoluted for my taste.

What I'd like to do is to be able to just

return $id_numbers;

on the PHP side and directly translate it to a Javascript array after the AJAX call.

Answer 1

Hello,

Php has a function for this, just pass the array to it:

$json = json_encode($var);

$.ajax({
url:"Example.php",
type:"POST",
dataType : "json",
success:function(msg){
    console.info(msg);
}
});