Problem with JS jQuery AJAX

Question

Hi all,

i have a problem with my code.

function fnFormatDetails ( oTable, nTr )
{
    var aData = oTable.fnGetData( nTr );
    var sOut = "";

    var ajax = $.ajax({
        url: "/wemi/mediaplaner/show?id="+aData[1],
        success:    function(data)  {
            //return data; 
            //return sOut = data;
            //console.log(sOut);
        },
        error:  function()  {
            //alert("Error");
        }
    });

    //document.write(ajax.responseText); //write empty Text
    console.log(ajax); //Real Object all is OK

    //console.log(ajax.responseText); get empty Text
    //alert(ajax.responseText); // get Empty Text
    return sOut;
}

I just need to print the ajaxed text... and as you can see i get only undifined or empty response.

but if i print or alert in success function, all is Ok and i get my response...

Answer 1

You've discovered the answer already. The ajax call is asynchronous. The code in the "success" handler will be executed when the HTTP request completes. The $.ajax function itself, however, returns immediately after starting the request.

The correct approach is to put the code in the "success" callback. (Or put the call to some other function there.)