GET Method

It is a method to send data from a browser to a server. It is less secure because the data to be sent is shown in the URL. A form data can be submitted using the 'GET' method as follows:

`form.php:`

<?php
    if(isset($_GET["submit"])){
        // This code runs when form is submitted 
        echo $_GET['email'];
    }
?>
<html>
    <head><title>Get Method</title></head>
    <body>
        <form action="form.php" method="get">
            <div>
                <label for="mail">Email: </label>
                <input type="email" name="email" id="mail">
            </div>
            <button type="submit" name="submit">Submit</button>
        </form>
    </body>
</html>

In the above code, '$_GET' is a global associative array in PHP that stores the form data submitted using a "GET" method. The "isset()" function checks if the variable has value or not. So, when the submit button is pressed, form data is stored in the '$_GET' array and PHP code is executed to do something with that data.

On form submit, the URL shows the form data as the 'key: value' pair:

http://localhost:3000/GET-and-POST/form.php?email=giver1234%40gmail.com&submit=

Let's break down the URL:

PHP file path starts from 'http' to 'form.php'
The '?' denotes the start of a query string to pass data to the server
KEY: 'email' is the 'name' attribute of the Email input box
VALUE: 'giver1234%40gmail.com' is the actual input given by the user
'&' is the separator of form data
'submit' is the 'name' attribute of the submit button

💡

Remember the '$_GET' array? All these 'key: value' pairs shown in the URL are stored in it.

POST Method

It is also a method to send data from a browser to a server. But it is more secure and large data can be sent at a time. For example:

`form.php:`

<?php
    // '$_POST' is also a global associative array
    if(isset($_POST["submit"])){
        // This code runs when form is submitted 
        echo $_POST['email'];
    }
?>
<html>
    <head><title>Post Method</title></head>
    <body>
        <form action="form.php" method="post">
            <div>
                <label for="mail">Email: </label>
                <input type="email" name="email" id="mail">
            </div>
            <button type="submit" name="submit">Submit</button>
        </form>
    </body>
</html>

When the submit button is pressed, form data is stored in the '$_POST' array and PHP code is executed to handle that data.

NOTE: After submitting the form, the PHP code can be used for the client-side form validation using methods like:

empty(): Checks if a variable is empty or not. Returns 'true' if empty.
preg_match(): Tests string with a regular expression. Returns 'true' if matched.

PHP: GET and POST Methods

Table of contents

GET Method

`form.php:`

POST Method

`form.php:`