Passing Variable from web method (aspx) to javascript

[Kal Pag]

Hi,
I am trying to execute a code behind web method in javascript using PageMethods. The problem I am facing is as below:

<WebMethod()> _
        Public Shared Function Insert(ByVal charge As String, ByVal clientid As String) As String
        Dim value as string
        'Do The insert and retun value
        Return value
End Function

Below is the javascript code and the insert method gets executed based on a confirm window:

function DoSomething1(sender, eventargs){
    var txtRa = document.getElementById(sender.get_attributes().getAttribute("AssID"));
    txtRa.value="";
    var charge = sender.get_text();
    if (trim(charge)!=""){
charge = charge.replace("'", "\'");
        var message = '<%= Resources.NoExist%>'
        if(confirm(message)) {
            var clientid = sender.get_attributes().getAttribute("ClientID");
            var ret = PageMethods.Insert(charge,index);
            alert(ret);
               DoSomething2(ret);

       }

The javascript code doesnt wait for the function to return a value and hence is executing the alert even before the insert function is complete. So, I end up getting an 'undefined' value for ret parameter.

Is there any way we can synchronously wait for the method to complete, get the return variable, set it in a hidden variable and use it in the rest of the javascript.
the webmethod does not have access to the UI controls on the page, as it is a shared web method.
I am open to moving this webmethod to a web service but I am not sure how the javascript would wait for the codebehind function to complete.
I have tried setTimeOut method in javascript to see if that will cause the wait but that dint work. The alert got fired with 'undefined'.
The webmethod does not take a long time to execute either. It only takes a few seconds. I just cant figure out how I can wait on the client side for the return parameter.

Please help me with any ideas and I am pretty much open to trying out anything at this point.

thanks in advance,
Kal.

[sitefinitysteve]

If you're going the webservice route, what about the RadXmlHttpPanel?...it fires an event once the callback is completed

[Kal Pag]

Thanks Steve for the response. I will look into that.

In the mean while, I was able to find a temporary solution using Microsoft.XMLHTTP from the link below:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/ajax/SynchronousAJAX.aspx

I am not sure how safe it is to use the public web method in this way within javascript. This seems to me like a major security issue. I am assuming that the validation/authentication needs to be done in the webmethod. I would like to know if there are any other ways of authenticating the request.

Thanks,
Kal.

[sitefinitysteve]

You could also just use jQuery

Here's something I did recently

if (!visible) { //Animate if not visible
       $telerik.$('.feedbackpanel_outer').hide();  //Hide other panels
        $telerik.$(panelID).slideToggle(200, function() {
            $telerik.$(panelID + " .feedbackpanel_inner").fadeIn(200, function() {
               $telerik.$(panelID + " .feedbackpanel_inner textarea").focus(); //Set focus to the textbox
            });
        });
    }

So it runs slideToggle for 200ms, then once completed, runs the next nested function...etc etc

The nested ones don't run until the parent completes

[Eliza Sahoo]

In the above example, I have a web method called “HelloUser(string)” defined in “WebserviceTest” web service. It takes a string variable as parameter named as name. So when I want to invoke the web method for testing then I have to provide the parameter value in the text box as shown above.

    But with a little modification to the WebConfig file we can also pass the parameter in the url itself. The process is described as follow:

• We have to add the following line of code inside the <system.web> tag of the WebConfig file.

  <webServices>

        <protocols>

          <add name="HttpGet"/>

       </protocols>

  </webServices>

Then we can pass the parameter value by appending it to the url.

• Ex: http://localhost:1115/v150/WebserviceTest.asmx/HelloUser?name=MFS

[Hope this will help you with your web method testing.]