Phpmyadmin weird characters after ajax post

Question

I insert some data from a php form to the database. When I enter greek characters the database shows strange characters.

I have in my HTML charset="utf-8" I tried decoding the post values and then from strange characters it gives me ????

$.ajax({
   url:postURL,
   method:"POST",             
   data:$('#add_name').serialize(),
   type: 'json',
   success:function(data)
   {
     i=1;
     var spot = document.getElementById('spot_name').value;
     window.location.href = "<?php echo base_url("index.php/Spot_preview/spot_preview/");?>"+spot;

   }
  });

php

foreach ($_POST["date"] as $key => $date) {
    $dur =$_POST['spot_duration'];
    $cat = $_POST['category'][$key];
    $price = $dur * $cat;
    $spot_name = ($_POST['spot_name']);
    $sql = "INSERT INTO spot(spot_duration,spot_type,spot_name,spot_link,customer_name,spot_date,spot_show,spot_time,spot_price,spot_category) VALUES ('".$_POST['spot_duration']."','".$_POST['spot_type']."','".$spot_name."','".$_POST['file_name_helper']."','".$_POST['customer_name']."','".$date."','".$_POST['show'][$key]."','".$_POST['time'][$key]."',$price,'".$_POST['category'][$key]."')";
    $mysqli->query($sql);
}

try changing it to a greek_general_ci in the phpmyadmin settings — comphonia, Dec 29 '18 at 13:29
I did, still getting weird characters. If I dont use ajax and I just submit the form through php, the data are stored correctly. So I assume it has to do with the ajax post and not the database — Spy, Dec 29 '18 at 13:33
if you're serializing the form as JSON you would have to parse the data and build an SQL query from it. can't help without seeing the back-end code too — comphonia, Dec 29 '18 at 13:41
I added the backend code. I also tried to unserialize the post values but still it gives weird characters — Spy, Dec 29 '18 at 13:54
Possible duplicate of [UTF-8 all the way through](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/279170/utf-8-all-the-way-through) — Martin, Dec 29 '18 at 14:10

Sherif Salah · Accepted Answer · 2018-12-29T15:11:15.203

1

Change your contentType to support different charset:

dataType: 'json',
contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",

EDIT: .. I've tried and tested it myself and found that there is no issues with ajax request at all and it sends the data perfectly fine but the issue is on the server side upon receiving.

You have to set the php header like this in your method:

header('Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8');

I've sent this text ΑαΒβΓγΔδΕεΖζΗηΘθΙιΚκΛλΜμΝν and received and echoed it correctly after setting the header with charset utf-8.

edited Dec 29 '18 at 15:11

answered Dec 29 '18 at 13:42

Sherif Salah

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It doesn't send the data if I add those lines – Spy Dec 29 '18 at 13:55
@Spy .. its `dataType` not `type` .. try again and show me your new code. – Sherif Salah Dec 29 '18 at 14:04
I edited the code. I added the lines and it only sends the data if I remove the contentType line. But still it saves them faulty in the db – Spy Dec 29 '18 at 14:09
What about echoing them before saving them to the database, is it faulty as well? .. and tell me if the headers from ajax post are correct. – Sherif Salah Dec 29 '18 at 14:11
When I add your lines it doesn't make the redirection. I can't echo them – Spy Dec 29 '18 at 14:23
I'll try it myself and add a full answer. – Sherif Salah Dec 29 '18 at 14:25

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 29 '18 at 14:48

Try using the serializeArray() to create a JSON from post data. added a console.log for debugging.

 $('.submitBtn').click(function(e) {
     e.preventDefault();
     var sdata = $('#add_name').serializeArray();
     console.log(fdata);
   $.ajax({
       url:'',
       method:"POST",             
       data:fdata,
       type: 'json',
       success:function(data)
       {
         i=1;
         var spot = document.getElementById('spot_name').value;
         window.location.href = "<?php echo base_url("index.php/Spot_preview/spot_preview/");?>"+spot;
       }
      });
 })

Phpmyadmin weird characters after ajax post

2 Answers2