title: jQuery ajax-- returning data to calling function
body: <p>I've written a simple generic ajax function that can be called by multiple functions in my script. I'm not sure how to get the data returned to the ajax function back to the caller.</p>
  
  <pre><code>// some function that needs ajax data
  function myFunction(invoice) {
      // pass the invoice data to the ajax function
      var result = doAjaxRequest(invoice, 'invoice');
      console.dir(result); // this shows `undefined`
  }
  
  // build generic ajax request object
  function doAjaxRequest(data, task) {
      var myurl = 'http://someurl';
      $.ajax({
          url: myurl + '?task=' + task,
          data: data,
          type: 'POST',
          success: function(data) {
              console.dir(data); // this shows good data as expected  
              return data; // this never gets back to the calling function
          }
      });
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Is there a way to return the ajax data to the calling function?</p>