Execute PHP function with onclick

Mike picture Mike · Oct 11, 2013 · Viewed 724k times · Source

I am searching for a simple solution to call a PHP function only when a-tag is clicked.

PHP:

function removeday() { ... }

HTML:

<a href="" onclick="removeday()" class="deletebtn">Delete</a>

UPDATE: the html and PHP code are in the same PHP file

Answer

Michael J. Calkins picture Michael J. Calkins · Oct 11, 2013

First, understand that you have three languages working together:

  • PHP: It only runs by the server and responds to requests like clicking on a link (GET) or submitting a form (POST).

  • HTML & JavaScript: It only runs in someone's browser (excluding NodeJS).

I'm assuming your file looks something like:

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<?php
  function runMyFunction() {
    echo 'I just ran a php function';
  }

  if (isset($_GET['hello'])) {
    runMyFunction();
  }
?>

Hello there!
<a href='index.php?hello=true'>Run PHP Function</a>
</html>

Because PHP only responds to requests (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE via $_REQUEST), this is how you have to run a PHP function even though they're in the same file. This gives you a level of security, "Should I run this script for this user or not?".

If you don't want to refresh the page, you can make a request to PHP without refreshing via a method called Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX).

That is something you can look up on YouTube though. Just search "jquery ajax"

I recommend Laravel to anyone new to start off right: http://laravel.com/