How to handle application errors for json api calls using CakePHP? - ajax

Question

I am using CakePHP 2.4.
I want my frontend make api calls to my CakePHP backend using ajax.
Suppose this is to change passwords.
Change password action can throw the following application errors:
old password wrong
new password and confirm new passwords do not match
In my frontend, I have a success callback handler and a error callback handler.
The error callback handler handles all the non 200 request calls such as when I throw NotFoundException or UnAuthorizedAccessException in my action.
The success callback handler handles all the 200 request calls including of course, the above 2 scenarios.
My questions are:
Should I continue to do it this way? Meaning to say, inside all success callback handler, I need to watch out for application success and application error scenarios.
Should I send application errors back with actual HTTP error codes?
if I should do 2, how do I implement this in CakePHP?
Thank you.

Answer 1

Don't use http error codes for system errors like:
old password wrong
new password and confirm new passwords do not match
etc etc...
Now using success handler you can show messages and code flow as:
Create Ajax post or get to submit the form, I am showing you post example
var passwordValue = $('#password').val();
$.post( "/updatePassword", { passwordText: passwordValue })
.done(function(response) {
if(response.status === 'Success'){
// Success msg
// whatever
}else{
// Error msg
// whatever
}
});
json response would like:
{
"status": "Failed/Success",
"message": "old password wrong."
}
Create one function in controller
public function updatePassword() {
$myModel = $this->MyModel->find('first' // YOUR CODE LOGIC);
if($this->request->is('ajax') {
$this->layout=null;
// What else?
echo json_encode($myModel);
exit;
// What else?
}
}
Do something like this, hope it will solve your query!