Codeigniter + JQuery 1.4.2 + autocomplete

[eluser]Kyle Ellman[/eluser]
If anyone is having trouble using the ajax callback method of the autocomplete, I've found an easier way of using JQuery UI Autocompleter with CI.

Since most of us leave $_GET disabled (default in CI), we have to use another method of passing the search term to the function. Just use a URI segment to do that like this:

Code:

//this could be a function in a "search" controller

function autocomplete()
    {
        echo json_encode($this->search_model->search($this->uri->segment(3)));
    }

And since the source url has to change each time the autocompleter requests that function, add this event to the options:

Code:

$( "#search_box" ).autocomplete({
                source: '<?=base_url()?>searchcontroller/autocomplete',
                search: function(event, ui)
                {
                    $("#search_box").autocomplete("option", "source", '<?=base_url()?>searchcontroller/autocomplete/'+$("#search_box").val());
                }
            });

And as long as the function in the model returns an array of results, you should be good to go.