Adding LIVE ajax searching to search box

[Minnie Mouse]

Hi, i am trying to add live ajax searching to the search box... i have succeeded in doing it without using zens functions. but, then my output on certain character rendering doesnt work. so i would like to use the built in zen functionality since it is displaying these characters correctly in other parts of the site.

some background...
i am using scriptaculous / prototype for the js library. this is loaded and functioning. in my search form i added:
$content .= '<div id="autocomplete_choices" class="autocomplete"></div>
<script>
new Ajax.Autocompleter("autocomplete","autocomplete_choices","search/ajaxsearch.php",{paramName: "search"});
</script>';
after the input tag.

i loaded the js files into template/mytemplate/jscript and put references in my header.

the param above search/ajaxsearch.php calls the query on the database. following is the code: the first set commented is the code that works (but returns weird characters on letters with accents) the second code block doesnt return anything on the query.

<?php
/*
mysql_connect('localhost', 'user', 'password');
mysql_select_db("mydatabasename");




if(!isset($_REQUEST["search"])) exit;
$search=mysql_real_escape_string(trim($_REQUEST["search"]));
$result = mysql_query("SELECT products_name, products_description.products_id, products.products_id, products_status FROM products_description, products WHERE products_description.products_id = products.products_id AND products_status=1 AND products_name LIKE '%$search%';");
if(mysql_num_rows($result)) {
echo "<ul>";
while($r=mysql_fetch_assoc($result)) {
$title = $r["products_name"];


echo "<li>$title</li>";
}
echo "</ul>";
}
*/

?>
//////NEW BLOCK HERE///////
<?php

require('includes/application_top.php');

$content = '';
if(!isset($_REQUEST["search"])) exit;
$search=mysql_real_escape_string(trim($_REQUEST["search"]));


$product_query = mysql_query("SELECT a.products_id, b.products_id, b.products_name
FROM products a, products_description b where a.products_id = b.products_id order by b.products_name AND products_name LIKE '%$search%';");

$product_result = $db->Execute($product_query);
$content .= "<ul>";
while (!$product_result->EOF) {
$content .= '<li>'. $product_result->fields['products_name'] . '</li>';
$product_result->MoveNext();

};

$content .= "</ul>";



?>
<?php echo $content; ?>

any help would be really really appreciated. i have gotten really far on this and i think a lot of people would like this adaptation. oh and this ajaxsearch.php file is in a subfolder search from the root. not sure if that is the issue or not...

Minnie

[yellow1912]

Do your tables have prefix?

[Minnie Mouse]

no they dont..

[yellow1912]

Did you try to catch the returned result and see what is returned?

[Minnie Mouse]

nothing is returned, which is why i think i am not connecting to the database. The query is good. i have tested it in a module sidebox.

[yellow1912]

nothing is returned, which is why i think i am not connecting to the database. The query is good. i have tested it in a module sidebox.

Pretty weird, did you try to access this file directly? What do you get then? (You can edit the code to put a test string for $search.)
If you get a blank page, use this https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=82