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dyarosh

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AJax call not consistently returning data under IE for all users in MVC 4 application

I have a very interesting and frustrating problem.  I have a web application developed using MVC 4, JQuery and Bootstrap.  One of the forms prompts for some information and then makes an AJax call to see if any records already exist for the information entered.

Here is the problem.  When a user enters a new record and then go back to see if it exists, the AJax call returns with no data (or so it seems).  If I try and see if a record exists from a user that reports this problem, it works for me and I am able to find the record.  Most users are using IE 9.  Those users on Chrome are not reporting the error.

Here is the AJax call:
      $("#RequestSearch").click(function (e) {

          $("#modal-wrapper").hide();
          $("#loading").show();

          var numkeys = $("#uniqueKeyCounter").val();

          if (numkeys > 0) {
              $(".error").empty();
              var haserrors = 0;
              var uniquekeyfields = "";
              var dateval = "";
              for (i = 0; i < numkeys; i++) {
                  //if the value is blank
                  $("#uniquekeygroup" + i).removeClass("has-error has-feedback");
                  $("#uniquekeyadd" + i).empty();

                  // first look for the datepicker class & validate the dates

                  dateval = "";

                  if ($("#uniquekey" + i).val() == '') {
                      $(".error").append("You must supply a value for <strong>" + $("#uniquekeyname" + i).text() + "</strong><br />");
                      $("#uniquekeygroup" + i).addClass("has-error has-feedback");
                      $("#uniquekeyadd" + i).append("<span class='glyphicon glyphicon-warning-sign form-control-feedback'></span>");
                      haserrors = 1;
                  }
                  else {
                      // see if the field is a date 
                      dateval = $('.datepicker' + i).val();

                      //supposed to be a date field -->
                      //      if (dateval != 'undefined')
                      if ($('.datepicker' + i).val()) {
                          //      alert("dateval = "+dateval);
                          if (Date.parse(dateval)) // if false the date is mal formed
                          {

                          }
                          else {
                              $(".error").append("You must supply a correctly formatted DATE value for " + $("#uniquekeyname" + i).text() + "<br />");
                              $("#uniquekeygroup" + i).addClass("has-error has-feedback");
                              $("#uniquekeyadd" + i).append("<span class='glyphicon glyphicon-warning-sign form-control-feedback'></span>");
                              haserrors = 1;

                          }
                      }

                      //This is where we're currently formulating the Unique Key string. 
                      // we need to pass in the Referral Type along with the keys

                      if (uniquekeyfields == "") {
                          uniquekeyfields = encodeURIComponent($("#uniquekey" + i).val());
                      }
                      else {
                          uniquekeyfields = uniquekeyfields + "," + encodeURIComponent($("#uniquekey" + i).val());
                      }




                  }
              }

              var uniquekeysreturned;
              if (haserrors == 0) {

                  var ReferralTypeID = $('#ReferralTypeID').val();

                  //  generate the Unique Key String for the unique fields and the Referral Type

                  uniquekeysreturned = generateUniqueKeystring(ReferralTypeID, uniquekeyfields);



                  //uniquekeyfields needs to match what the database is storing --->

                  // hide the bottom section, in case it currently is appearing
                  $('#dupesection').hide();
                  // empty out any text in the output area -- where the dupes will show up
                  $('#outputarea').empty();

                  var UniqueKeyValue = $('#UniqueKeyValue').val();


                  //return the duplicates for the Referraltype and the unique keys
                  data = returnDuplicates(ReferralTypeID, uniquekeysreturned);

                  var jsonString = data;



                  // if no results were found, then submit form to create a new request

                  if ($.trim(jsonString) == "") {


                      var form = $("#referral-form");
                      // submit form to proper view
                      //                       form.attr("action", "@Url.Action("CreateNewRequest","ScreenTest")");
                      //                       form.submit();

                      var form = $("#referral-form");
                      // get URL for form

                      var controllerName = $("#ReferralRoute").val() + "RequestProcess";
                      var actionName = "CreateRequest";
                      form.attr("action", getURL(controllerName, actionName, ""));
                      formatform();
                      form.submit();



                  }
                  else {
                      var myData = JSON.parse(jsonString);
                      //    alert(data);

                      // since we know there will be output, show the bottom section
                      $('#dupesection').show();

                      // hide the Search button
                      $('.modal-footer').hide();

                      // set the text for the label to the output area, with the Unique Key Value
                      $('#outputarealabel').text("Matching Referrals");
                      // (" + UniqueKeyValue + ")");

                      var status = "";
                      var output = "<table id='widetable' class='table table-striped' width='100%'><thead><tr style='background-color:#00468b;color:#fff'><th width='5%'>ID</th><th width='20%'>Submitted</th><th width='20%'>Submitted By</th><th width='35%'>Referral Information</th><th width='10%'>Status</th><th width='10%'>Action</th></tr></thead><tbody>";

                      // create update link


                      // create view link 



                      var controllerName = $("#ReferralRoute").val() + "RequestProcess";
                      var actionName = "";
                      var routeVals = "";


                      $.each(myData, function (idx, obj) {
                          routeVals = obj.ID;
                          status = ""
                          switch (obj.ReferralStatusID) {
                              // Produces link for Updating Request              

                              case 1:                   //New Request
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-success UpdateRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >Update Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='danger'>";
                                  break;

                              case 3:                   //Needs Info 
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-success UpdateRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >Update Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='danger'>";
                                  break;

                              case 5:                   //Received 
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-success UpdateRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >Update Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='column-unassigned'>";
                                  break;

                              case 2:                   //Needs Approval 
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-success UpdateRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >Update Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='warning'>";
                                  break;

                              case 4:                   //Approved
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-success UpdateRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >Update Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='warning'>";
                                  break;

                              case 10:                  //Waiting for Reply
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-success UpdateRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >Update Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='warning'>";
                                  break;

                              case 6:                   //Assigned
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-success UpdateRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >Update Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='success'>";
                                  break;

                              // Below are View only statuses               
                              case 8:                   //Completed
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-primary ViewRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >View Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='info'>";
                                  break;

                              case 12:                  //On Hold
                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-primary ViewRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >View Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='info'>";
                                  break;

                              case 9:                   //Declined

                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-primary ViewRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >View Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='declined'>";
                                  break;

                              case 11:                  //Closed

                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-primary ViewRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >View Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='declined'>";
                                  break;

                              case 7:                   //In Progress

                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-primary ViewRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >View Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='declined'>";
                                  break;

                              case 13:                  //Withdrawn

                                  actionName = "UpdateRequest";
                                  status = "<a class='btn btn-primary ViewRequest' href='" + getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) + "' >View Referral</a>";
                                  output = output + "<tr class='declined'>";
                                  break;
                          }


                          output += "<td>" + obj.ID + "</td><td>" + obj.DateSubmitted + "</td><td>" + obj.SubmittedBy + "</td><td>" + obj.Referralinformation + "</td>";

                          //                     output += "<td>";

                          // Sample --->>>     <a tabindex="0" class="popup" role="button" data-toggle="popover" data-trigger="focus"  data-placement="top" data-content="INformation goes here"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-question-sign" ></span></a>

                          //                   output+="<a href='#' title='View More Referral Information' target='_blank' ><span class='glyphicon glyphicon-question-sign'></span> </a>"

                          //                   output+="</td>";

                          output += "<td>" + obj.ReferralStatus + "</td><td>" + status + "</td></tr>";
                      });

                      output = output + "</tbody></table>";

                      output = output + '<button type="button" class="btn btn-success CreateNewRequest">Create New Referral</button>';

                      var $outputarea = $('#outputarea');

                      $(output).appendTo($outputarea);

                      $("#widetable").DataTable({
                          "order": [0, 'desc'],
                          "stripeClasses": ['odd', 'even'],
                          "bSort": false
                      });


                  }


                  $(".CreateNewRequest").click(function (e) {

                      $("#modal-wrapper").hide();
                      $("#loading").show();

                      var form = $("#referral-form");

                      // get URL for form
                      var controllerName = $("#ReferralRoute").val() + "RequestProcess";
                      var actionName = "CreateRequest";
                      form.attr("action", getURL(controllerName, actionName, ""));
                      formatform();
                      form.submit();

                  });




              } //has errors
              else {
                  $("#modal-wrapper").show();
                  $("#loading").hide();

              }

          } //numkeys

      });

      function getURL(controllerName, actionName, routeVals) {
          var URL;
          var result = 0;
          $.ajax({
              data: { actionName: actionName, controllerName: controllerName, routeVals: routeVals },
              async: false,
              type: 'GET',
              url: '@Url.Action("getURL","RequestProcess")',
              success: function (data) {
                  //callback
                  //alert("data =" + data);
                  result = data;

              }
          });
          //alert("result = " + result);
          return result;


      }

      function returnDuplicates(ReferralTypeID,uniquekeysreturned) {
          var URL;
          var result = "";
          $.ajax({
              data: { referraltypeid: ReferralTypeID, keyValues:  encodeURI(uniquekeysreturned) },
              async: false,
              type: 'GET',
              dataType: "json",
              url: '@Url.Action("findduplicates","RequestProcess")',
              error: function (jqXHR, exception) {
                  if (jqXHR.status === 0) {
                      alert('Not connect.n Verify Network.');
                  } else if (jqXHR.status == 404) {
                      alert('Requested page not found. [404]');
                  } else if (jqXHR.status == 500) {
                      alert('Internal Server Error [500].');
                  } else if (exception === 'parsererror' && data != "") {
                      alert('Requested JSON parse failed.');
                  } else if (exception === 'timeout') {
                      alert('Time out error.');
                  } else if (exception === 'abort') {
                      alert('Ajax request aborted.');
                  } else {
                      alert('Uncaught Error.n' + jqXHR.responseText);
                  } 
              },
              success: function (data) {
                  //callback
                  //alert("data =" + data);

                  result = data;

              }
          });
          
          return result;


      }

      function generateUniqueKeystring(ReferralTypeID,uniquekeyfields) {

                 
          var URL;
          var result = "";
          $.ajax({
              data: {referraltypeid: ReferralTypeID, keyValues: uniquekeyfields  },
              async: false,
              type: 'GET',
              url: '@Url.Action("generateUniqueKeystring","RequestProcess")',
              success: function (data) {
                  //callback
                  //alert("data =" + data);
                  result = data[0];

              }
          });
          //alert("result = " + result);

          //return the first item in the collection
          return result;
    


      }

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When I use IE's debugger and watch the Network traffic I see the call being made.

Network results:
===== Success ========


URL	Method	Result	Type	Received	Taken	Initiator	Wait‎‎	Start‎‎	Request‎‎	Response‎‎	Cache read‎‎	Gap‎‎
/Apps/Referrals/RequestProcess/findduplicates?referraltypeid=21&keyValues=DRC%2520Policy%2C2011212	GET	304	application/json	463 B	< 1 ms	JS Library XMLHttpRequest	6740	0	0	0	0	9079


===== Failed =========

URL	Method	Result	Type	Received	Taken	Initiator	Wait‎‎	Start‎‎	Request‎‎	Response‎‎	Cache read‎‎	Gap‎‎
/Apps/Referrals/RequestProcess/findduplicates?referraltypeid=21&keyValues=DRC%2520Policy%2C2011214	GET	304	application/json	446 B	< 1 ms	JS Library XMLHttpRequest	15819	0	0	0	0	0

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When I debug the Javascript using IE I make the call but don't get any data back.

When I debug the Server side code using MS Visual Studio, everything works and I can't recreate the problem.  Here is the code for the AJax call:

        public JsonResult findduplicates(int referraltypeid = 0, string keyValues = null)
        {
            // If no ReferralType or no keyValues specified, return null
            if (referraltypeid == 0 || keyValues == null || keyValues.Length == 0)
                return Json("ReferralTypeID is 0 or keyValues are not defined", JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet); ;

            // Key Values are encoded.  Decode before formatting unique key
            keyValues = System.Uri.UnescapeDataString(keyValues);

            // Create string array from keyvalues
            string[] keys = keyValues.Split(',');

            // Create ReferralKey
            string referralKey = _businessLogic.FormatReferralKey(keys);

            // Find matching Referrals
            List<REF_Referrals> referrals = _businessLogic.FindMatchingReferrals(referraltypeid, referralKey);

            // If no referrals found, return null
            if (referrals.Count() == 0)
                return Json("No records found", JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet); ;

            // Sort Referrals by Status Priority
            List<REF_Referrals> sortedReferrals = _businessLogic.SortReferralsByStatusPriority(referrals);

            // Format data to send to View
            List<FoundPolicyInformation> referralList = _businessLogic.FormatReferralPolicyInformation(sortedReferrals);

            var jsonReferral = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(referralList);

            return Json(jsonReferral, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);

        }

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The following lines were change from:

                return Json(null, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet); ;

to:

                return Json("ReferralTypeID is 0 or keyValues are not defined", JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet); ;
and:
                return Json("No records found", JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);

to see if the problem is on the server side.  When checking the response.body when no data is returned I do not get the messages.

Any help in trying to figure out what is going is greatly appreciated.  My project is being held up until the issue is resolved.
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Avatar of dyarosh
dyarosh

ASKER

The 304 appears in the Successful call also.  The call under Success returned data.  The Call under Failed did not.  They both have 304 for the Cache Read.  Do you still think it could be a Caching problem on the server?
Avatar of dyarosh

ASKER

We discovered the problem and it had to do with the Ajax call.  Your suggestion about the Cache ended up leading us to the solution even though it doesn't involve the cache on the server.  We set the contentType in the AJax call to "application/json; charset=utf-8" and this solved the problem.  I gave you a B only because your suggestion ended up leading us to the solution even though it wasn't involved in the solution.  Thank you so much for your help!!!
Glad to hear that, though 304 is not for "cache read" its more than likely the HTTP Result Code - 304 is "Not Modified."  

URL      Method      Result

Server returns 304 telling the client that the version of resource it has is "Not Modified," therefore no need to download it again and use the previous the client has. In your logs, it looks like the server is returning DATA as well - 446 bytes (AFAIR, something against the semantics of 304). IT could be that IE interprets 304 more strictly than other browsers and discards the returned response and uses its previously cached response, whereas other browsers use the response content.

I certainly don't see how setting the content type on the server could fix, when you have already mentioned that IE works fine with some responses.