#Search Records & Return Found 3 buttons
# 0 Member ID
# 1 Last Name 
# 2 Business Name 
elsif ($action eq "updatetable_167"){
    warn("Entered updatetable_167");
    my $kind = $query->param('kind');
     my $searchterm = $query->param('searchterm');
    my $result;
    warn("searchterm = '$searchterm'");

    my $searchfield = "";

    if ($kind == 0) {
      $searchfield = 'user_id';
    } 
    if ($kind == 1) {
      $searchfield = 'lastname';    
    }
    if ($kind == 2) {
      $searchfield = 'business';    
    }
    
    warn("searchfield =  '$searchfield'");
        
#    my $stmt = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE $searchfield = ?"; comment 
+out for testing
    my $stmt = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE user_id = 15";

    warn("statement =  '$stmt'");     #of course meaning nothing with 
+placeholder ?
    
    my $sth = $dbh->prepare ($stmt) or die "Error Preparing:\n" . $stm
+t . "\nDBI returned: \n", $dbh->errstr;
    
    $sth->execute($searchterm) or die "Unable to execute query: " . $s
+th->errstr;    
    
    warn("Finished sub search record");    
    
    
    $result = generateResponseHash($sth);
    
#   code # below is used to populate an html table and sent back to th
+e client. Works fine for testing     
#    $result = generateMemberDataSet($sth);
    
    if ($result == 1) {
      warn("Failed Search: '$searchfield' equal to '$searchterm' "); 
    }      
}
[download]

sub generateResponseHash{
   my $sth = shift;   
 
   $sth->execute () or die "Unable to execute query: " . $sth->errstr;

   my $count = $sth->rows;

   warn("count = '$count'");
   if ($count == 0) {
     return 1;
     }
   
   my $ref = $sth->fetchrow_hashref ();
   
#   print "Hello Output File\n"; #test stdout redirect to dumper.log w
+orks.

   warn("generateResponseHash ref: '$ref'");
   my $hash = hash_display_listing ($ref);
   $sth->finish ();
   completeResultHash( $hash ); 

}
[download]

Looks like sub below doe not generate a hash form the data supplied.

sub hash_display_listing{
my $ref = @_;
#warn("hash display_listing: '$ref->{"id"}'");

  my $hash = (
    'id'        =>$ref->{"id"},
    'user_id'   =>$ref->{"user_id"},
    'username'  =>$ref->{"username"},
    'password'  =>$ref->{"password"},
    'pin'       =>$ref->{"pin"},
    'position'  =>$ref->{"position"},
    'forename'  =>$ref->{"forename"},
    'lastname'  =>$ref->{"lastname"},
    'business'  =>$ref->{"business"},
    'address1'  =>$ref->{"address1"},
    'address2'  =>$ref->{"address2"},
    'city'      =>$ref->{"city"},
    'state'     =>$ref->{"state"},
    'zip'       =>$ref->{"zip"},
    'phone_home'=>$ref->{"phone_home"},
    'phone_cell'=>$ref->{"phone_cell"},
    'email'     =>$ref->{"email"},
    'comments'  =>$ref->{"comments"},
    'MJ'        =>$ref->{"MJ"},
    'MD'        =>$ref->{"MD"},
    'DD'        =>$ref->{"DD"},
    'DP'        =>$ref->{"DP"},
   );

print Dumper ($hash);
[download]

    my $stmt = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE $searchfield = ?";
    
    warn("statement =  '$stmt'");    
    
    my $sth = $dbh->prepare ($stmt) or die "Error Preparing:\n" . $stm
+t . "\nDBI returned: \n", $dbh->errstr;
    
    $sth->execute($searchterm) or die "Unable to execute query: " . $s
+th->errstr;
[download]

Using the placeholder ? in select I get "1" printed the dumper.log HELP!!!

In addition to Corion's comments the first line of this sub is incorrect, the scalar $ref will be 1, the count of elements in @_

sub hash_display_listing{
  # my $ref = @_;
  my ($ref) = @_;
  # or 
  # my $ref = shift ;
[download]

$sth->execute($searchterm) 
      or die "Unable to execute query: " . $sth->errstr;    
warn("Finished sub search record");        
$result = generateResponseHash($sth);
[download]

You are calling $sth->execute() twice, first time with a parameter and again in generateResponseHash($sth) without parameter

Breaking long code into subroutines is usually good practice but be careful not to overdo it :)

Read more... (2 kB)
poj

JSON I cut off all the sub calls after the action updatetable_167 call.

    my $stmt = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE $searchfield = ?";
    warn("statement =  '$stmt'");    
    my $sth = $dbh->prepare ($stmt) or die "Error Preparing:\n" . $stm
+t . "\nDBI returned: \n", $dbh->errstr;
    $sth->execute($searchterm) or die "Unable to execute query: " . $s
+th->errstr;    
    my $refresult = $sth->fetchrow_hashref();
    my $count = $sth->rows;
    warn("count = '$count'");
    if ($count == 0) {
       warn("Failed Search: '$searchfield' equal to '$searchterm' "); 
       exit(1);
     }
    else {
       warn("count = '$count'");
       my $json = JSON->new; 
       $json->canonical(1);
       $json = encode_json($refresult);
       print $json;
       warn("Finished print '$json_str'");    
       exit(0);
      }
[download]

output:

{"DD":"2019-01-30","DP":"2018-12-31","MD":"120.00","MJ":"2018-01-30","
+address1":"1471 Meeks Rd","address2":null,"business":"JZ Electroplati
+ng","city":"Warran","comments":"This is a test entry","email":"jze@ya
+hoo.com","forename":"John","id":57,"lastname":"Zinzer","password":"12
+34","phone_cell":"517-240-1004","phone_home":"517-233-4378","pin":"Jb
+wmZ","position":"General Member","state":"MI","user_id":19,"username"
+:"bwm19","zip":"45789-2334"}
[download]

Don;t understand why not in order after $json->canonical(1);

my $hash = (
    'id'        =>$ref->{"id"},
    'user_id'   =>$ref->{"user_id"},
    'username'  =>$ref->{"username"},
    'password'  =>$ref->{"password"},
    'pin'       =>$ref->{"pin"},
    'position'  =>$ref->{"position"},
    'forename'  =>$ref->{"forename"},
    'lastname'  =>$ref->{"lastname"},
    'business'  =>$ref->{"business"},
    'address1'  =>$ref->{"address1"},
    'address2'  =>$ref->{"address2"},
    'city'      =>$ref->{"city"},
    'state'     =>$ref->{"state"},
    'zip'       =>$ref->{"zip"},
    'phone_home'=>$ref->{"phone_home"},
    'phone_cell'=>$ref->{"phone_cell"},
    'email'     =>$ref->{"email"},
    'comments'  =>$ref->{"comments"},
    'MJ'        =>$ref->{"MJ"},
    'MD'        =>$ref->{"MD"},
    'DD'        =>$ref->{"DD"},
    'DP'        =>$ref->{"DP"},
   );
[download]

That's not how you initialize a hash reference.

Please consider reading tye's References Quick Reference and perlreftut to learn about how to construct references.

Also, the output of Dumper( $hash ) should have shown you that what you expect is not what Perl puts into $hash without the surroundings of your CGI script. Consider reducing code you don't understand to a bare minimum instead of testing things inside a CGI program.