In this blog post, we are going to learn how to use JavaScript variables in PHP scripts. Sometimes, you may want
to pass the value of a JavaScript variable to your PHP code to perform some server-side operations. Although PHP
and JavaScript are different languages running on different environments (PHP on server-side and JavaScript on
client-side), we can still find a way to communicate between them.
Method 1: Using an AJAX call
One of the most common methods to pass a JavaScript variable to PHP is by performing an AJAX request. AJAX
stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, which allows us to make HTTP requests from the client-side without
needing to refresh the page. In this example, we’ll use jQuery to simplify our AJAX call. If you don’t have
jQuery included in your project, add the following line in your HTML’s head section:
Now, let’s say we have a JavaScript variable called myVar, and we want to send its value to a
PHP script called process.php. Here is how you can do it:
In the process.php file, you can access the JavaScript variable’s value using the
$_POST superglobal array like this:
Method 2: Using a form and a hidden input field
Another way to pass a JavaScript variable to PHP is by using an HTML form with a hidden input field. Let’s say
we have the same JavaScript variable as before, and we want to send it to PHP when a user submits a form. First,
create an HTML form with a hidden input field:
Next, create a JavaScript function that assigns the value of your JavaScript variable to the hidden input field
and trigger this function when the form gets submitted:
Now, in your process.php file, you can access the JavaScript variable’s value using the
$_POST superglobal array as shown in the previous method.
Conclusion
Although PHP and JavaScript run on different environments, with the help of AJAX calls or HTML forms, we can
pass JavaScript variables to PHP scripts to perform various tasks. We hope this tutorial has been helpful to
you, and you now have a better understanding of how to use JavaScript variables in PHP.
