'empty']); exit; } try { $stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT id_account FROM account WHERE username = ?"); $stmt->execute([$username]); if ($stmt->fetch()) { echo json_encode(['status' => 'taken']); } else { echo json_encode(['status' => 'available']); } } catch (PDOException $e) { echo json_encode(['status' => 'error', 'message' => $e->getMessage()]); } ?>