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In this article we'll take you through the basics of HTML forms, including their purpose, basic features, and common form controls. We'll also have a look at HTML buttons and how they can be used.
| Prerequisites: | Familiarity with HTML fundamentals (as covered in Getting started with HTML.) |
|---|---|
| Objective: | To become familiar with the purpose and basic features of HTML forms, and be able to write your own simple forms. |
Why do we have forms?
HTML forms for collecting user data, and sending them to a server for storage (e.g. in database)
analogous to paper and pen forms you fill in for some doctors and government departments
A basic form
<form>, cover basic attributes.
Briefly say that form controls are generally structured using containers like divs and lists, as well as specialised items like fieldsets. But we'll cover those in a different article.
Show example
Make sure the basic inputs are covered:
input type=text
input type=submit
textareas
Where does the data go when a form is submitted?
Talk about servers receiving requests
depending on form method, data will be sent as get parameters or post data (main options)
the action attribute specifies what server-side file the data is sent to for processing.
at this point the server-side code will do something like put the data in a database.
Providing choices in forms
radio buttons
checkboxes
select elements
show an example of each.