ajax user suggest

it’s been a few years since my ajax suggest guide, and since i’ve rewritten my ajax user suggestion code i figured an updated guide is in order. this guide covers using ajax with jquery and knockout to suggest users when typing in a text input field and support selection with the keyboard or mouse. familiarity with php, mysql, javascript, jquery, knockout, html, and css will make this guide more useful. specific css examples are not given since the best look will depend on the website using it. differences from the previous guide are including jquery and knockout, showing avatar and friend status with suggested usernames, and a single mysql query instead of two that get combined in php.