AJAX not updating variable

Question

jQuery

I am making an AJAX request that updates the value of a variable (foo) with a response from the server. Here is the code I am using:

Answer 1

The issue is simple...

alert(foo);

will execute while the request is being processed and foo will not be altered yet.

if you do :

$.ajax({
    url: "/",
    dataType: "text",
    success: function(response) {
        foo = "New value:" + response;
        alert(foo);
    },
    error: function() {
        alert('There was a problem with the request.');
    }
});

You'll see that it's working as intended