// holds an instance of XMLHttpRequest
var xmlHttp = createXmlHttpRequestObject();

// creates an XMLHttpRequest instance
function createXmlHttpRequestObject() {
	// will store the reference to the XMLHttpRequest object
	var xmlHttp;
	// this should work for all browsers except IE6 and older
	try	{
		// try to create XMLHttpRequest object
		xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
	}
	catch(e) {
		// assume IE6 or older
		var XmlHttpVersions = new Array("MSXML2.XMLHTTP.6.0",
		                                "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.5.0",
		                                "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.4.0",
		                                "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.3.0",
		                                "MSXML2.XMLHTTP",
		                                "Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
		// try every prog id until one works
		for (var i=0; i<XmlHttpVersions.length && !xmlHttp; i++) {
			try	{
				// try to create XMLHttpRequest object
				xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject(XmlHttpVersions[i]);
			}
			catch (e) {
			}
		}
	}
	// return the created object or display an error message
	if (!xmlHttp)
		alert("Error creating the XMLHttpRequest object.");
	else
		return xmlHttp;
}



// generate a new dealer state select list based on selected country;
function dealerStateList() {
	var ccid = document.getElementById("country").value;
	// only continue if xmlHttp isn't void
	if (xmlHttp) {
		// try to connect to the server
		try {
			var str = "";
			str = "ccid=" + ccid;
			str += "&action=statelist";
			// initiate the asynchronous HTTP request
			xmlHttp.open("POST", "includes/functions.ajax.php", true);
			xmlHttp.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8");
			xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
				// when readyState is 4, we are ready to read the server response
				if (xmlHttp.readyState == 4) {
					// continue only if HTTP status is "OK"
					if (xmlHttp.status == 200) {
				  		try {
				    		// handle the response from the server
							responseText = xmlHttp.responseText;
							var obj = document.getElementById("xstate");
							obj.innerHTML = responseText;
				  		}
				  		catch(e) {
				    		// display error message
				    		alert("Error reading the response: " + e.toString());
				  		}
					}
					else {
				  		// display status message
				  		alert("There was a problem retrieving the data:\n" + xmlHttp.statusText);
					}
				}
			};
			xmlHttp.send(str);
		}
		// display the error in case of failure
		catch (e) {
			alert("Can't connect to server:\n" + e.toString());
		}
	}
}