how can I call PHP from Javascript?

I have a situation where I need to display results from a MySQL database in an HTML file. I cannot be a PHP file - it has to be HTML.

So is there a way to use Javascript so I can get to a PHP file to grab the contents of my MySQL database tables and display the results on the HTML page?

I've seen a page at the SitePoint forums (http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-108826) that described a way to do it. But it hasn't worked for me.

Any ideas?

Thanks

....Vidya