PHP CodeIgnitor

CodeIgniter is an Application Development Framework - a toolkit - for people who build web sites using PHP. Its goal is to enable you to develop projects much faster than you could if you were writing code from scratch, by providing a rich set of libraries for commonly needed tasks, as well as a simple interface and logical structure to access these libraries. CodeIgniter lets you creatively focus on your project by minimizing the amount of code needed for a given task.

Monday, 11 July 2011

PHP :: PHP New Functions

In PHP 5 there are some new functions. Here is the list of them:

Arrays:

array_combine() - Creates an array by using one array for keys and another for its values
array_diff_uassoc() - Computes the difference of arrays with additional index check which is performed by a user supplied callback function
array_udiff() - Computes the difference of arrays by using a callback function for data comparison
array_udiff_assoc() - Computes the difference of arrays with additional index check. The data is compared by using a callback function
array_udiff_uassoc() - Computes the difference of arrays with additional index check. The data is compared by using a callback function. The index check is done by a callback function also
array_walk_recursive() - Apply a user function recursively to every member of an array
array_uintersect_assoc() - Computes the intersection of arrays with additional index check. The data is compared by using a callback function
array_uintersect_uassoc() - Computes the intersection of arrays with additional index check. Both the data and the indexes are compared by using separate callback functions
array_uintersect() - Computes the intersection of arrays. The data is compared by using a callback function
InterBase:

ibase_affected_rows() - Return the number of rows that were affected by the previous query
ibase_backup() - Initiates a backup task in the service manager and returns immediately
ibase_commit_ret() - Commit a transaction without closing it
ibase_db_info() - Request statistics about a database
ibase_drop_db() - Drops a database
ibase_errcode() - Return an error code
ibase_free_event_handler() - Cancels a registered event handler
ibase_gen_id() - Increments the named generator and returns its new value
ibase_maintain_db() - Execute a maintenance command on the database server
ibase_name_result() - Assigns a name to a result set
ibase_num_params() - Return the number of parameters in a prepared query
ibase_param_info() - Return information about a parameter in a prepared query
ibase_restore() - Initiates a restore task in the service manager and returns immediately
ibase_rollback_ret() - Rollback transaction and retain the transaction context
ibase_server_info() - Request statistics about a database server
ibase_service_attach() - Connect to the service manager
ibase_service_detach() - Disconnect from the service manager
ibase_set_event_handler() - Register a callback function to be called when events are posted
ibase_wait_event() - Wait for an event to be posted by the database
iconv:

iconv_mime_decode() - Decodes a MIME header field
iconv_mime_decode_headers() - Decodes multiple MIME header fields at once
iconv_mime_encode() - Composes a MIME header field
iconv_strlen() - Returns the character count of string
iconv_strpos() - Finds position of first occurrence of a needle within a haystack
iconv_strrpos() - Finds the last occurrence of a needle within a haystack
iconv_substr() - Cut out part of a string
Streams:

stream_copy_to_stream() - Copies data from one stream to another
stream_get_line() - Gets line from stream resource up to a given delimiter
stream_socket_accept() - Accept a connection on a socket created by stream_socket_server()
stream_socket_client() - Open Internet or Unix domain socket connection
stream_socket_get_name() - Retrieve the name of the local or remote sockets
stream_socket_recvfrom() - Receives data from a socket, connected or not
stream_socket_sendto() - Sends a message to a socket, whether it is connected or not
stream_socket_server() - Create an Internet or Unix domain server socket
Date and time related:

idate() - Format a local time/date as integer
date_sunset() - Time of sunset for a given day and location
date_sunrise() - Time of sunrise for a given day and location
time_nanosleep() - Delay for a number of seconds and nanoseconds
Strings:

str_split() - Convert a string to an array
strpbrk() - Search a string for any of a set of characters
substr_compare() - Binary safe optionally case insensitive comparison of two strings from an offset, up to length characters
Other:

convert_uudecode() - decode a uuencoded string
convert_uuencode() - uuencode a string
curl_copy_handle() - Copy a cURL handle along with all of its preferences
dba_key_split() - Splits a key in string representation into array representation
dbase_get_header_info() - Get the header info of a dBase database
dbx_fetch_row() - Fetches rows from a query-result that had the DBX_RESULT_UNBUFFERED flag set
fbsql_set_password() - Change the password for a given user
file_put_contents() - Write a string to a file
ftp_alloc() - Allocates space for a file to be uploaded
get_declared_interfaces() - Returns an array of all declared interfaces
get_headers() - Fetches all the headers sent by the server in response to a HTTP request
headers_list() - Returns a list of response headers sent (or ready to send)
http_build_query() - Generate URL-encoded query string
image_type_to_extension() - Get file extension for image-type returned by getimagesize(), exif_read_data(), exif_thumbnail(), exif_imagetype()
imagefilter() - Applies a filter to an image using custom arguments
imap_getacl() - Gets the ACL for a given mailbox
ldap_sasl_bind() - Bind to LDAP directory using SASL
mb_list_encodings() - Returns an array of all supported encodings
pcntl_getpriority() - Get the priority of any process
pcntl_wait() - Waits on or returns the status of a forked child as defined by the waitpid() system call
pg_version() - Returns an array with client, protocol and server version (when available)
php_check_syntax() - Check the syntax of the specified file
php_strip_whitespace() - Return source with stripped comments and whitespace
proc_nice() - Change the priority of the current process
pspell_config_data_dir() - Change location of language data files
pspell_config_dict_dir() - Change location of the main word list
setrawcookie() - Send a cookie without URL-encoding the value
scandir() - List files and directories inside the specified path
snmp_read_mib() - Reads and parses a MIB file into the active MIB tree
sqlite_fetch_column_types() - Return an array of column types from a particular table

AJAX :: POLL Example

AJAX Poll

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

Do you like PHP and AJAX so far?

Example Explained - The HTML Page

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

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
function getVote(int)
{
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
  document.getElementById("poll").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","poll_vote.php?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":

<?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).

AJAX :: RSS Reader

An RSS Reader is used to read RSS Feeds.

AJAX RSS Reader

The following example will demonstrate an RSS reader, where the RSS-feed is loaded into a webpage without reloading:

Example Explained - The HTML Page

When a user selects an RSS-feed in the dropdown list above, a function called "showResult()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onchange" event:

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
function showRSS(str)
{
if (str.length==0)
{
  document.getElementById("rssOutput").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("rssOutput").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","getrss.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<form>
<select onchange="showRSS(this.value)">
<option value="">Select an RSS-feed:</option>
<option value="Google">Google News</option>
<option value="MSNBC">MSNBC News</option>
</select>
</form>
<br />
<div id="rssOutput">RSS-feed will be listed here...</div>
</body>
</html>

The showResult() function does the following:

Check if an RSS-feed is selected
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 (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called "getrss.php":

<?php
//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET["q"];

//find out which feed was selected
if($q=="Google")
  {
  $xml=("http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=h&output=rss");
  }
elseif($q=="MSNBC")
  {
  $xml=("http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032091/device/rss/rss.xml");
  }

$xmlDoc = new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load($xml);

//get elements from "<channel>"
$channel=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('channel')->item(0);
$channel_title = $channel->getElementsByTagName('title')
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
$channel_link = $channel->getElementsByTagName('link')
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
$channel_desc = $channel->getElementsByTagName('description')
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;

//output elements from "<channel>"
echo("<p><a href='" . $channel_link
  . "'>" . $channel_title . "</a>");
echo("<br />");
echo($channel_desc . "</p>");

//get and output "<item>" elements
$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('item');
for ($i=0; $i<=2; $i++)
  {
  $item_title=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('title')
  ->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
  $item_link=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('link')
  ->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
  $item_desc=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('description')
  ->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;

  echo ("<p><a href='" . $item_link
  . "'>" . $item_title . "</a>");
  echo ("<br />");
  echo ($item_desc . "</p>");
  }
?>

When an RSS-feed is sent from the JavaScript, the following happens:

Check which feed was selected
Create a new XML DOM object
Load the RSS document in the xml variable
Extract and output elements from the channel element
Extract and output elements from the item element

AJAX :: Live Search

AJAX can be used to create more user-friendly and interactive searches.

AJAX Live Search

The following example will demonstrate a live search, where you get search results while you type.
Live search has many benefits compared to traditional searching:

Results are shown as you type
Results narrow as you continue typing
If results become too narrow, remove characters to see a broader result

Search for a W3Schools page in the input field below:
The results in the example above are found in an XML file (links.xml). To make this example small and simple, only eight results are available.

Example Explained - The HTML Page

When a user types a character in the input field above, the function "showResult()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onkeyup" event:

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
function showResult(str)
{
if (str.length==0)
{
  document.getElementById("livesearch").innerHTML="";
  document.getElementById("livesearch").style.border="0px";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
  document.getElementById("livesearch").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    document.getElementById("livesearch").style.border="1px solid #A5ACB2";
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","livesearch.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<form>
<input type="text" size="30" onkeyup="showResult(this.value)" />
<div id="livesearch"></div>
</form>

</body>
</html>

Source code explanation:
If the input field is empty (str.length==0), the function clears the content of the livesearch placeholder and exits the function.
If the input field is not empty, the showResult() function executes 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 (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the input field)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called "livesearch.php".
The source code in "livesearch.php" searches an XML file for titles matching the search string and returns the result:

<?php
$xmlDoc=new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load("links.xml");

$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('link');

//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET["q"];

//lookup all links from the xml file if length of q>0
if (strlen($q)>0)
{
$hint="";
for($i=0; $i<($x->length); $i++)
  {
  $y=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('title');
  $z=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('url');
  if ($y->item(0)->nodeType==1)
    {
    //find a link matching the search text
    if (stristr($y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue,$q))
      {
      if ($hint=="")
        {
        $hint="<a href='" .
        $z->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue .
        "' target='_blank'>" .
        $y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue . "</a>";
        }
      else
        {
        $hint=$hint . "<br /><a href='" .
        $z->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue .
        "' target='_blank'>" .
        $y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue . "</a>";
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

// Set output to "no suggestion" if no hint were found
// or to the correct values
if ($hint=="")
  {
  $response="no suggestion";
  }
else
  {
  $response=$hint;
  }

//output the response
echo $response;
?>

If there is any text sent from the JavaScript (strlen($q) > 0), the following happens:

Load an XML file into a new XML DOM object
Loop through all <title> elements to find matches from the text sent from the JavaScript
Sets the correct url and title in the "$response" variable. If more than one match is found, all matches are added to the variable
If no matches are found, the $response variable is set to "no suggestion"

AJAX :: XML and AJAX

AJAX can be used for interactive communication with an XML file.

AJAX XML Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information from an XML file with AJAX:

Example Explained - The HTML Page

When a user selects a CD in the dropdown list above, a function called "showCD()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onchange" event:

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
function showCD(str)
{
if (str=="")
{
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","getcd.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<form>
Select a CD:
<select name="cds" onchange="showCD(this.value)">
<option value="">Select a CD:</option>
<option value="Bob Dylan">Bob Dylan</option>
<option value="Bonnie Tyler">Bonnie Tyler</option>
<option value="Dolly Parton">Dolly Parton</option>
</select>
</form>
<div id="txtHint"><b>CD info will be listed here...</b></div>

</body>
</html>

The showCD() function does the following:

Check if a CD is selected
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 (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called "getcd.php".
The PHP script loads an XML document, "cd_catalog.xml", runs a query against the XML file, and returns the result as HTML:

<?php
$q=$_GET["q"];

$xmlDoc = new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load("cd_catalog.xml");

$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('ARTIST');

for ($i=0; $i<=$x->length-1; $i++)
{
//Process only element nodes
if ($x->item($i)->nodeType==1)
  {
  if ($x->item($i)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue == $q)
    {
    $y=($x->item($i)->parentNode);
    }
  }
}

$cd=($y->childNodes);

for ($i=0;$i<$cd->length;$i++)
{
//Process only element nodes
if ($cd->item($i)->nodeType==1)
  {
echo("<b>" . $cd->item($i)->nodeName . ":</b> ");
  echo($cd->item($i)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue);
  echo("<br />");
  }
}
?>

When the CD query is sent from the JavaScript to the PHP page, the following happens:

PHP creates an XML DOM object
Find all <artist> elements that matches the name sent from the JavaScript
Output the album information (send to the "txtHint" placeholder)

AJAX can be used for interactive communication with a database.

AJAX Database Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information from a database with AJAX:

Example Explained - The MySQL Database

The database table we use in the example above looks like this:

id	FirstName	LastName	Age	Hometown	Job
1	Peter	Griffin	41	Quahog	Brewery
2	Lois	Griffin	40	Newport	Piano Teacher
3	Joseph	Swanson	39	Quahog	Police Officer
4	Glenn	Quagmire	41	Quahog	Pilot

Example Explained - The HTML Page

When a user selects a user in the dropdown list above, a function called "showUser()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onchange" event:

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
function showUser(str)
{
if (str=="")
{
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","getuser.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<form>
<select name="users" onchange="showUser(this.value)">
<option value="">Select a person:</option>
<option value="1">Peter Griffin</option>
<option value="2">Lois Griffin</option>
<option value="3">Glenn Quagmire</option>
<option value="4">Joseph Swanson</option>
</select>
</form>
<br />
<div id="txtHint"><b>Person info will be listed here.</b></div>

</body>
</html>

The showUser() function does the following:

Check if a person is selected
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 (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called "getuser.php".
The source code in "getuser.php" runs a query against a MySQL database, and returns the result in an HTML table:

<?php
$q=$_GET["q"];

$con = mysql_connect('localhost', 'peter', 'abc123');
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("ajax_demo", $con);

$sql="SELECT * FROM user WHERE id = '".$q."'";

$result = mysql_query($sql);

echo "<table border='1'>
<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Hometown</th>
<th>Job</th>
</tr>";

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
  {
  echo "<tr>";
  echo "<td>" . $row['FirstName'] . "</td>";
  echo "<td>" . $row['LastName'] . "</td>";
  echo "<td>" . $row['Age'] . "</td>";
  echo "<td>" . $row['Hometown'] . "</td>";
  echo "<td>" . $row['Job'] . "</td>";
  echo "</tr>";
  }
echo "</table>";

mysql_close($con);
?>

Explanation: When the query is sent from the JavaScript to the PHP file, the following happens:

PHP opens a connection to a MySQL server
The correct person is found
An HTML table is created, filled with data, and sent back to the "txtHint" placeholder

AJAX :: PHP

AJAX PHP Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can communicate with a web server while a user type characters in an input field:

Example Explained - The HTML Page

When a user types a character in the input field above, the function "showHint()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onkeyup" event:

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
function showHint(str)
{
if (str.length==0)
{
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","gethint.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<p><b>Start typing a name in the input field below:</b></p>
<form>
First name: <input type="text" onkeyup="showHint(this.value)" size="20" />
</form>
<p>Suggestions: <span id="txtHint"></span></p>

</body>
</html>

Source code explanation:
If the input field is empty (str.length==0), the function clears the content of the txtHint placeholder and exits the function.
If the input field is not empty, the showHint() function executes 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 (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the input field)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called "gethint.php".
The source code in "gethint.php" checks an array of names, and returns the corresponding name(s) to the browser:

<?php
// Fill up array with names
$a[]="Anna";
$a[]="Brittany";
$a[]="Cinderella";
$a[]="Diana";
$a[]="Eva";
$a[]="Fiona";
$a[]="Gunda";
$a[]="Hege";
$a[]="Inga";
$a[]="Johanna";
$a[]="Kitty";
$a[]="Linda";
$a[]="Nina";
$a[]="Ophelia";
$a[]="Petunia";
$a[]="Amanda";
$a[]="Raquel";
$a[]="Cindy";
$a[]="Doris";
$a[]="Eve";
$a[]="Evita";
$a[]="Sunniva";
$a[]="Tove";
$a[]="Unni";
$a[]="Violet";
$a[]="Liza";
$a[]="Elizabeth";
$a[]="Ellen";
$a[]="Wenche";
$a[]="Vicky";

//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET["q"];

//lookup all hints from array if length of q>0
if (strlen($q) > 0)
{
$hint="";
for($i=0; $i<count($a); $i++)
    {
    if (strtolower($q)==strtolower(substr($a[$i],0,strlen($q))))
      {
      if ($hint=="")
        {
        $hint=$a[$i];
        }
      else
        {
        $hint=$hint." , ".$a[$i];
        }
      }
    }
}

// Set output to "no suggestion" if no hint were found
// or to the correct values
if ($hint == "")
{
$response="no suggestion";
}
else
{
$response=$hint;
}

//output the response
echo $response;
?>

Explanation: If there is any text sent from the JavaScript (strlen($q) > 0), the following happens:

Find a name matching the characters sent from the JavaScript
If no match were found, set the response string to "no suggestion"
If one or more matching names were found, set the response string to all these names
The response is sent to the "txtHint" placeholder