PHP AJAX Poll

The following example will demonstrate a poll where the result is shown without reloading

AJAX Poll

The following example will demonstrate a poll where the result is shown without reloading.

Do you like PHP and AJAX so far?

Yes:
No:

Example Explained - The HTML Page

When a user chooses an option above, a function called "getVote()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onclick" event:

<html>
<head>
<script>
function getVote(int) {
  var xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
  xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function() {
    if (this.readyState==4 && this.status==200) {
      document.getElementById("poll").innerHTML=this.responseText;
    }
  }
  xmlhttp.open("GET","poll_vote?vote="+int,true);
  xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<div id="poll">
<h3>Do you like PHP and AJAX so far?</h3>
<form>
Yes: <input type="radio" name="vote" value="0" onclick="getVote(this.value)"><br>
No: <input type="radio" name="vote" value="1" onclick="getVote(this.value)">
</form>
</div>

</body>
</html>

The getVote() function does the following:

  • Create an XMLHttpRequest object
  • Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
  • Send the request off to a file on the server
  • Notice that a parameter (vote) is added to the URL (with the value of the yes or no option)
  • The PHP File

    The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called "poll_vote":

    <?php
    $vote = $_REQUEST['vote'];

    //get content of textfile
    $filename = "poll_result.txt";
    $content = file($filename);

    //put content in array
    $array = explode("||", $content[0]);
    $yes = $array[0];
    $no = $array[1];

    if ($vote == 0) {
      $yes = $yes + 1;
    }
    if ($vote == 1) {
      $no = $no + 1;
    }

    //insert votes to txt file
    $insertvote = $yes."||".$no;
    $fp = fopen($filename,"w");
    fputs($fp,$insertvote);
    fclose($fp);
    ?>

    <h2>Result:</h2>
    <table>
    <tr>
    <td>Yes:</td>
    <td><img src="poll.gif"
    width='<?php echo(100*round($yes/($no+$yes),2)); ?>'
    height='20'>
    <?php echo(100*round($yes/($no+$yes),2)); ?>%
    </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
    <td>No:</td>
    <td><img src="poll.gif"
    width='<?php echo(100*round($no/($no+$yes),2)); ?>'
    height='20'>
    <?php echo(100*round($no/($no+$yes),2)); ?>%
    </td>
    </tr>
    </table>

    The value is sent from the JavaScript, and the following happens:

  • Get the content of the "poll_result.txt" file
  • Put the content of the file in variables and add one to the selected variable
  • Write the result to the "poll_result.txt" file
  • Output a graphical representation of the poll result
  • The Text File

    The text file (poll_result.txt) is where we store the data from the poll.

    It is stored like this:

    0||0

    The first number represents the "Yes" votes, the second number represents the "No" votes.

    Note: Remember to allow your web server to edit the text file. Do NOT give everyone access, just the web server (PHP).