get_input not .. getting input!

i have a line of code here that retrieves the 'filter' parameter from urls when viewing the main list of group tabs (e.g. site.com/groups?filter=popular)

which is 

$filter_var = get_input('filter','newest'); 

as far as i am aware, that should work fine.. but somehow the return is always the default 'newest'. 

i've checked the $_GET and $_RESPONSE variable directly for the filter variable and they are always empty.

as far as i am aware, this page is loading fairly normally and so the variable 'should' be easily accessible in the usual way.

anyone got any idea as to what i am missing here?

thanks

  • now i'm seeing some bonkers behaviour with php.

    i'm outputting a string for 'no items found' and it is rendering twice.. unexplainedly..

    i put a javascript alert box before the echo line that outputs the text string.. 

    and the alert box fires twice.. (for reasons unknown).. and the string is already outputted into the box BEFORE the alert boxes trigger.. even though the alert box is the first line sequentially in the code..

    i think i am breaking through the walls of linear reality where the illusion of logic is breaking down and the computer is revealed to be nothing more than a figment of imagination!

  • aha... 2nd bug down.. a missing hyperlink anchor.. leading to jquery confusion.

    now to the get_input!

  • after carefully re-structuring the code that's fixed too.. so no need for a common cause of page reloads to be identified.. now i'm just left with the ajax loading bug..