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PHP Search Function Tutorial: Quick Implementation Using Arrays and Forms

M66 2025-06-24

Practical Guide to Implementing Data Search in PHP

In web development, search functionality plays a key role in improving user experience. A well-designed search system allows users to find the information they need quickly. This article demonstrates how to build a simple yet effective search feature using PHP, perfect for lightweight applications.

1. Prepare Sample Data

We start by creating an array to simulate the data set. In real-world applications, this data typically comes from a database or external source.


$data = array(
    array("id" => 1, "name" => "Zhang San", "age" => 25, "city" => "Beijing"),
    array("id" => 2, "name" => "Li Si", "age" => 30, "city" => "Shanghai"),
    array("id" => 3, "name" => "Wang Wu", "age" => 35, "city" => "Guangzhou"),
    // More data...
);

2. Create a Search Form

Users enter search keywords via a form, which sends the input to the PHP backend. Below is a basic HTML search form:


<form action="search.php" method="get">
    <input type="text" name="keyword" placeholder="Enter keyword..." />
    <input type="submit" value="Search" />
</form>

3. Write PHP Logic to Handle Search

In the search.php file, retrieve the keyword and filter the dataset to find matching entries. The search checks the name, age, and city fields:


$keyword = $_GET['keyword'];

if ($keyword === "") {
    echo json_encode($data);
    exit;
}

$results = array();

foreach ($data as $item) {
    if (strpos($item['name'], $keyword) !== false ||
        strpos((string)$item['age'], $keyword) !== false ||
        strpos($item['city'], $keyword) !== false) {
        $results[] = $item;
    }
}

echo json_encode($results);

4. Display Results with AJAX

You can use AJAX to send a request to search.php and display results on the page without reloading. Here's how it can be done with JavaScript:


var keyword = document.getElementById("keyword").value;
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();

xhr.onreadystatechange = function() {
    if (xhr.readyState == 4 && xhr.status == 200) {
        var results = JSON.parse(xhr.responseText);
        var resultContainer = document.getElementById("result-container");
        resultContainer.innerHTML = "";

        for (var i = 0; i < results.length; i++) {
            var item = document.createElement("div");
            item.innerHTML = results[i].name + ", " + results[i].age + ", " + results[i].city;
            resultContainer.appendChild(item);
        }
    }
};

xhr.open("GET", "search.php?keyword=" + keyword, true);
xhr.send();

5. Summary

With this example, we've built a simple search system using PHP and plain JavaScript. It includes a form input, keyword filtering, and dynamic result display. This solution is suitable for small to medium projects and can be extended to include more advanced features such as fuzzy search, pagination, or database integration.

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