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10 PHP Forms

The document provides an overview of handling forms in PHP using $_GET and $_POST superglobals, including examples of form creation and data processing. It emphasizes the importance of data validation and security measures such as htmlspecialchars(), trim(), and stripslashes() to prevent malicious code injection. Additionally, it covers how to implement required fields and validate user input for names, emails, and URLs.

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yannickngwa844
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12 views

10 PHP Forms

The document provides an overview of handling forms in PHP using $_GET and $_POST superglobals, including examples of form creation and data processing. It emphasizes the importance of data validation and security measures such as htmlspecialchars(), trim(), and stripslashes() to prevent malicious code injection. Additionally, it covers how to implement required fields and validate user input for names, emails, and URLs.

Uploaded by

yannickngwa844
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Web Programming II

PHP Forms
Form Handling
The PHP superglobals $_GET and $_POST are used to collect form-data.
PHP - A Simple HTML Form
The example below displays a simple HTML form with two input fields and a submit button:
Example
<html>
<body>
<form action="welcome.php" method="POST">
Name: <input type="text" name="name"><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email"><br>
<input type="submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
When the user fills out the form above and clicks the submit button, the form data is sent for processing to a
PHP file named "welcome.php". The form data is sent with the HTTP POST method. To display the submitted
data you could simply echo all the variables. The "welcome.php" looks like this:
<html>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"]; ?><br>
Your email address is: <?php echo $_POST["email"]; ?>
</body>
</html>
The same result could also be achieved using the HTTP GET method:
Example
Same example, but the method is set to GET instead of POST:
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
Web Programming II

<body>
<form action="welcome_get.php" method="get">
Name: <input type="text" name="name"><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email"><br>
<input type="submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
and "welcome_get.php" looks like this:
<html>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo $_GET["name"]; ?><br>
Your email address is: <?php echo $_GET["email"]; ?>
</body>
</html>
The code above is quite simple, and it does not include any validation. You need to validate form data to protect
your script from malicious code.
GET vs. POST
Both GET and POST create an array (e.g. array( key1 => value1, key2 => value2, key3 => value3, ...)). This
array holds key/value pairs, where keys are the names of the form controls and values are the input data from
the user.
Both GET and POST are treated as $_GET and $_POST. These are superglobals, which means that they are
always accessible, regardless of scope - and you can access them from any function, class or file without having
to do anything special.
$_GET is an array of variables passed to the current script via the URL parameters.
$_POST is an array of variables passed to the current script via the HTTP POST method.
When to use GET?
Information sent from a form with the GET method is visible to everyone (all variable names and values are
displayed in the URL). GET also has limits on the amount of information to send. The limitation is about 2000
characters. However, because the variables are displayed in the URL, it is possible to bookmark the page. This
can be useful in some cases. GET may be used for sending non-sensitive data.
Web Programming II

Note: GET should NEVER be used for sending passwords or other sensitive information!
When to use POST?
Information sent from a form with the POST method is invisible to others (all names/values are embedded
within the body of the HTTP request) and has no limits on the amount of information to send. Moreover POST
supports advanced functionality such as support for multi-part binary input while uploading files to server.
However, because the variables are not displayed in the URL, it is not possible to bookmark the page.

Form Validation
The first thing we will do is to pass all variables through PHP's htmlspecialchars() function.
The htmlspecialchars() function converts special characters into HTML entities. This means that it will replace
HTML characters like < and > with &lt; and &gt;. This prevents attackers from exploiting the code by injecting
HTML or Javascript code (Cross-site Scripting attacks) in forms.
When we use the htmlspecialchars() function; then if a user tries to submit the following in a text field:
<script>location.href('http://www.hacked.com')</script>
This would not be executed, because it would be saved as HTML escaped code, like this:
&lt;script&gt;location.href('http://www.hacked.com')&lt;/script&gt;
The code is now safe to be displayed on a page or inside an e-mail.
We will also do two more things when the user submits the form:
1. Strip unnecessary characters (extra space, tab, newline) from the user input data (with the
PHP trim() function)
2. Remove backslashes \ from the user input data (with the PHP stripslashes() function)
The next step is to create a function that will do all the checking for us (which is much more convenient than
writing the same code over and over again).
We will name the function test_input().
Now, we can check each $_POST variable with the test_input() function, and the script looks like this:
Example
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<?php
Web Programming II

// define variables and set to empty values


$name = $email = $gender = $comment = $website = "";
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
$name = test_input($_POST["name"]);
$email = test_input($_POST["email"]);
$website = test_input($_POST["website"]);
$comment = test_input($_POST["comment"]);
$gender = test_input($_POST["gender"]);
}
function test_input($data) {
$data = trim($data);
$data = stripslashes($data);
$data = htmlspecialchars($data);
return $data;
}
?>
<h2>PHP Form Validation Example</h2>
<form method="post" action="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]);?>">
Name: <input type="text" name="name">
<br><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email">
<br><br>
Website: <input type="text" name="website">
<br><br>
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"></textarea>
<br><br>
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="female">Female
Web Programming II

<input type="radio" name="gender" value="male">Male


<input type="radio" name="gender" value="other">Other
<br><br>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
<?php
echo "<h2>Your Input:</h2>";
echo $name;
echo "<br>";
echo $email;
echo "<br>";
echo $website;
echo "<br>";
echo $comment;
echo "<br>";
echo $gender;
?>
</body>
</html>
Notice that at the start of the script, we check whether the form has been submitted using
$_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"]. If the REQUEST_METHOD is POST, then the form has been
submitted - and it should be validated. If it has not been submitted, skip the validation and display a blank form.
However, in the example above, all input fields are optional. The script works fine even if the user does not
enter any data. The next step is to make input fields required and create error messages if needed.

Forms - Required Fields


This section shows how to make input fields required and create error messages if needed. In the previous
section, all input fields were optional.
In the following code we have added some new variables: $nameErr, $emailErr, $genderErr, and $websiteErr.
These error variables will hold error messages for the required fields. We have also added an if else statement
for each $_POST variable. This checks if the $_POST variable is empty (with the PHP empty() function). If it
Web Programming II

is empty, an error message is stored in the different error variables, and if it is not empty, it sends the user input
data through the test_input() function:
// define variables and set to empty values
$nameErr = $emailErr = $genderErr = $websiteErr = "";
$name = $email = $gender = $comment = $website = "";
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
if (empty($_POST["name"])) {
$nameErr = "Name is required";
} else {
$name = test_input($_POST["name"]);
}

if (empty($_POST["email"])) {
$emailErr = "Email is required";
} else {
$email = test_input($_POST["email"]);
}

if (empty($_POST["website"])) {
$website = "";
} else {
$website = test_input($_POST["website"]);
}

if (empty($_POST["comment"])) {
$comment = "";
} else {
$comment = test_input($_POST["comment"]);
}
Web Programming II

if (empty($_POST["gender"])) {
$genderErr = "Gender is required";
} else {
$gender = test_input($_POST["gender"]);
}
}

Display The Error Messages


Then in the HTML form, we add a little script after each required field, which generates the correct error
message if needed (that is if the user tries to submit the form without filling out the required fields):
Example
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<style>
.error {color: #FF0000;}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<?php
// define variables and set to empty values
$nameErr = $emailErr = $genderErr = $websiteErr = "";
$name = $email = $gender = $comment = $website = "";

if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
if (empty($_POST["name"])) {
$nameErr = "Name is required";
} else {
$name = test_input($_POST["name"]);
}

if (empty($_POST["email"])) {
$emailErr = "Email is required";
} else {
$email = test_input($_POST["email"]);
}
Web Programming II

if (empty($_POST["website"])) {
$website = "Website is required";
} else {
$website = test_input($_POST["website"]);
}

if (empty($_POST["comment"])) {
$comment = "Comment is required";
} else {
$comment = test_input($_POST["comment"]);
}

if (empty($_POST["gender"])) {
$genderErr = "Gender is required";
} else {
$gender = test_input($_POST["gender"]);
}
}

function test_input($data) {
$data = trim($data);
$data = stripslashes($data);
$data = htmlspecialchars($data);
return $data;
}
?>

<h2>PHP Form Validation Example</h2>


<p><span class="error">* required field</span></p>
<form method="post" action="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]);?>">
Name: <input type="text" name="name">
<span class="error">* <?php echo $nameErr;?></span>
<br><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email">
<span class="error">* <?php echo $emailErr;?></span>
<br><br>
Website: <input type="text" name="website">
<span class="error"><?php echo $websiteErr;?></span>
<br><br>
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"></textarea>
<br><br>
Gender:
Web Programming II

<input type="radio" name="gender" value="female">Female


<input type="radio" name="gender" value="male">Male
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="other">Other
<span class="error">* <?php echo $genderErr;?></span>
<br><br>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

<?php
echo "<h2>Your Input:</h2>";
echo $name;
echo "<br>";
echo $email;
echo "<br>";
echo $website;
echo "<br>";
echo $comment;
echo "<br>";
echo $gender;
?>

</body>
</html>
The next section is to validate the input data, that is "Does the Name field contain only letters and whitespace?",
and "Does the E-mail field contain a valid e-mail address syntax?", and if filled out, "Does the Website field
contain a valid URL?".

Validate E-mail and URL


This section shows how to validate names, e-mails, and URLs.
Validate Name
The code below shows a simple way to check if the name field only contains letters, dashes, apostrophes and
whitespaces. If the value of the name field is not valid, then store an error message:
$name = test_input($_POST["name"]);
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z-' ]*$/",$name)) {
$nameErr = "Only letters and white space allowed";
}
Note: The preg_match() function searches a string for pattern, returning true if the pattern exists, and false
otherwise.
Web Programming II

Validate E-mail
The easiest and safest way to check whether an email address is well-formed is to use PHP's filter_var()
function. In the code below, if the e-mail address is not well-formed, then store an error message:
$email = test_input($_POST["email"]);
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
$emailErr = "Invalid email format";
}
Validate URL
The code below shows a way to check if a URL address syntax is valid (this regular expression also allows
dashes in the URL). If the URL address syntax is not valid, then store an error message:
$website = test_input($_POST["website"]);
if (!preg_match("/\b(?:(?:https?|ftp):\/\/|www\.)[-a-z0-9+&@#\/%?=~_|!:,.;]*[-a-z0-
9+&@#\/%=~_|]/i",$website)) {
$websiteErr = "Invalid URL";
}
Validate Name, E-mail, and URL
Now, the script looks like this:
Example
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<style>
.error {color: #FF0000;}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<?php
// define variables and set to empty values
Web Programming II

$nameErr = $emailErr = $genderErr = $websiteErr = "";


$name = $email = $gender = $comment = $website = "";

if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
if (empty($_POST["name"])) {
$nameErr = "Name is required";
} else {
$name = test_input($_POST["name"]);
// check if name only contains letters and whitespace
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z-' ]*$/",$name)) {
$nameErr = "Only letters and white space allowed";
}
}

if (empty($_POST["email"])) {
$emailErr = "Email is required";
} else {
$email = test_input($_POST["email"]);
// check if e-mail address is well-formed
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
$emailErr = "Invalid email format";
}
}

if (empty($_POST["website"])) {
$website = "";
} else {
$website = test_input($_POST["website"]);
Web Programming II

// check if URL address syntax is valid


if (!preg_match("/\b(?:(?:https?|ftp):\/\/|www\.)[-a-z0-9+&@#\/%?=~_|!:,.;]*[-a-z0-
9+&@#\/%=~_|]/i",$website)) {
$websiteErr = "Invalid URL";
}
}

if (empty($_POST["comment"])) {
$comment = "";
} else {
$comment = test_input($_POST["comment"]);
}

if (empty($_POST["gender"])) {
$genderErr = "Gender is required";
} else {
$gender = test_input($_POST["gender"]);
}
}

function test_input($data) {
$data = trim($data);
$data = stripslashes($data);
$data = htmlspecialchars($data);
return $data;
}
?>
Web Programming II

<h2>PHP Form Validation Example</h2>


<p><span class="error">* required field</span></p>
<form method="post" action="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]);?>">
Name: <input type="text" name="name">
<span class="error">* <?php echo $nameErr;?></span>
<br><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email">
<span class="error">* <?php echo $emailErr;?></span>
<br><br>
Website: <input type="text" name="website">
<span class="error"><?php echo $websiteErr;?></span>
<br><br>
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"></textarea>
<br><br>
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="female">Female
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="male">Male
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="other">Other
<span class="error">* <?php echo $genderErr;?></span>
<br><br>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

<?php
echo "<h2>Your Input:</h2>";
echo $name;
echo "<br>";
echo $email;
Web Programming II

echo "<br>";
echo $website;
echo "<br>";
echo $comment;
echo "<br>";
echo $gender;
?>

</body>
</html>
The next section is to show how to prevent the form from emptying all the input fields when the user submits
the form.
Complete Form Example
This section shows how to keep the values in the input fields when the user hits the submit button.
To show the values in the input fields after the user hits the submit button, we add a little PHP script inside the
value attribute of the following input fields: name, email, and website. In the comment textarea field, we put
the script between the <textarea> and </textarea> tags. The little script outputs the value of
the $name, $email, $website, and $comment variables.
Then, we also need to show which radio button that was checked. For this, we must manipulate the checked
attribute (not the value attribute for radio buttons):

Name: <input type="text" name="name" value="<?php echo $name;?>">


E-mail: <input type="text" name="email" value="<?php echo $email;?>">
Website: <input type="text" name="website" value="<?php echo $website;?>">
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"><?php echo $comment;?></textarea>
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender"
<?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="female") echo "checked";?>
value="female">Female
<input type="radio" name="gender"
Web Programming II

<?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="male") echo "checked";?>


value="male">Male
<input type="radio" name="gender"
<?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="other") echo "checked";?>
value="other">Other
Complete Form Example
Here is the complete code for the PHP Form Validation Example:
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<style>
.error {color: #FF0000;}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<?php
// define variables and set to empty values
$nameErr = $emailErr = $genderErr = $websiteErr = "";
$name = $email = $gender = $comment = $website = "";

if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
if (empty($_POST["name"])) {
$nameErr = "Name is required";
} else {
$name = test_input($_POST["name"]);
// check if name only contains letters and whitespace
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z-' ]*$/",$name)) {
Web Programming II

$nameErr = "Only letters and white space allowed";


}
}

if (empty($_POST["email"])) {
$emailErr = "Email is required";
} else {
$email = test_input($_POST["email"]);
// check if e-mail address is well-formed
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
$emailErr = "Invalid email format";
}
}

if (empty($_POST["website"])) {
$website = "";
} else {
$website = test_input($_POST["website"]);
// check if URL address syntax is valid (this regular expression also allows dashes in the URL)
if (!preg_match("/\b(?:(?:https?|ftp):\/\/|www\.)[-a-z0-9+&@#\/%?=~_|!:,.;]*[-a-z0-
9+&@#\/%=~_|]/i",$website)) {
$websiteErr = "Invalid URL";
}
}

if (empty($_POST["comment"])) {
$comment = "";
} else {
$comment = test_input($_POST["comment"]);
Web Programming II

if (empty($_POST["gender"])) {
$genderErr = "Gender is required";
} else {
$gender = test_input($_POST["gender"]);
}
}

function test_input($data) {
$data = trim($data);
$data = stripslashes($data);
$data = htmlspecialchars($data);
return $data;
}
?>

<h2>PHP Form Validation Example</h2>


<p><span class="error">* required field</span></p>
<form method="post" action="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]);?>">
Name: <input type="text" name="name" value="<?php echo $name;?>">
<span class="error">* <?php echo $nameErr;?></span>
<br><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email" value="<?php echo $email;?>">
<span class="error">* <?php echo $emailErr;?></span>
<br><br>
Website: <input type="text" name="website" value="<?php echo $website;?>">
<span class="error"><?php echo $websiteErr;?></span>
Web Programming II

<br><br>
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"><?php echo $comment;?></textarea>
<br><br>
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender" <?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="female") echo "checked";?>
value="female">Female
<input type="radio" name="gender" <?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="male") echo "checked";?>
value="male">Male
<input type="radio" name="gender" <?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="other") echo "checked";?>
value="other">Other
<span class="error">* <?php echo $genderErr;?></span>
<br><br>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
<?php
echo "<h2>Your Input:</h2>";
echo $name;
echo "<br>";
echo $email;
echo "<br>";
echo $website;
echo "<br>";
echo $comment;
echo "<br>";
echo $gender;
?>
</body>
</html>

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