[
	{ name: 'foo 1', value: 1 },
	{ name: 'foo 2', value: 2 },
	{ name: 'foo 3', value: 3 },
	{ name: 'foo 4', value: 4 },
	{ name: 'foo 5', value: 5 },
	{ name: 'foo 6', value: 6 },
	{ name: 'foo 7', value: 7 },
	{ name: 'foo 8', value: 8 },
	{ name: 'foo 9', value: 9 },
	{ name: 'foo 10', value: 10 },
	{ name: 'foo 11', value: 11 },
	{ name: 'foo 12', value: 12 }
]

This should be fairly explanatory, name will be the visible text for each select option, and value will of course be that option’s value. To do this we first need to use jQuery’s $.getJSON() method to pull in the JSON, then within that callback we’ll build our string and call the $.prompt. Here is what it looks like:

$.getJSON('demoajax.js',function(json){

	var str = 'Test with a select populated by json data:<br />'+
		'<select name="myfield" id="myfield">';

	$.each(json,function(i,obj){
		str += '<option value="'+ obj.value +'">'+ obj.name +'</option>';
	});
	str += '</select>';

	$.prompt(str,{
		callback: function(v,m,f){ //just print out the selection
			$.prompt('You chose value '+ f.myfield);
		}
	});
});

Thats all there is to it. Here is the full working example. Don’t forget if you want to do real fun JSON parsing to check out my jsonSQL tool to write sql-like statements to parse your JSON to make combo drop downs more fun!

Related posts:

1. New Impromptu and Demo
2. Impromptu: An Ajax Form Framework
3. Introducing JsonSQL 0.1

Almost on a daily basis I come across using regular expressions rather convenient. I first toyed with regular expressions in my Compiler Design classes during my undergrad studies, and little did I know they can be used for everyday things like submitting forms. I’ve even toyed with them to create my own json parser using an SQL like syntax. I think they’re a great way to perform strict validation and searching among other things. Searching. There is something I need to work on. Not just strings, but database searches for account numbers, phone numbers, etc. Not just ‘%some string%’. Regular Expressions within SQL is something I have blogged about before. I’ve come to find that Regular Expression support is far from constant and in some cases not even supported(SQLite).

Incase you’re curious what I’m talking about, some database engines allow you to write something like the following:


SELECT zip FROM zipcode WHERE REGEXP_LIKE(zip, '[^[:digit:]]’)


Sure, this process probably isn’t very efficient, but it can be very powerful.

More and more frameworks are moving towards ORM’s. You no longer have to write database specific code as the database layer will handle the specifics for you, but none that I am aware of will handle anything of this complexity and for obvious reason. Lets step back to a simpler solution that many of us deal with on a daily basis:


$("input[name$='letter']")


jQuery somewhat creates it’s own language. It’s not xpath, its somewhat CSS selectors(ok, mostly css selectors), but there’s much more added to it’s own engine. Perhaps this approach could be a simple solution to the problem. Support a simplified subset or maybe my own mini language, and use the driver specific code to handle generating the database specific Regular Expressions. Here’s what such example may resemble in pseudo code:


$db->select('mytable')->where_regex("acct", "^\d{4}\-\d{8}$");


This code might search mytable for the acct that matches a pattern like “1234-12345678″. This isn’t terribly complex, however will suffice for the majority of everyday needs. Only supporting this level of complexity is more within the reach creating such if possible. This is my first post among others to come as this is mostly a brainstorm at this point. I openly welcome any pointers, advice, resources, or any other comments!

Related posts:

1. Exploring Various SQL RegEx Syntax
2. Select Substring Using RegEx in PostgreSQL
3. CakePHP, PostgreSQL, and Regex

Related posts:

1. Introducing JsonSQL 0.1
2. CakePHP, PostgreSQL, and Regex
3. New Demo – Impromptu with Ajax

jsonsql.query("select title,url from json.channel.items
where (category=='javascript' || category=='vista')
order by title,category asc limit 3",json);

Give it a shot. It would be nice to expand this a little more with a few aggregate functions (distinct, count, etc..).

Related posts:

1. JsonSQL Ported to PHP
2. New Demo – Impromptu with Ajax
3. Javascript JSON Parsing with SQL