HTML form

A form on a web page allows a user to enter data that is, typically, sent to a server for processing and to mimic the usage of paper forms. Forms can be used to submit data to save on a server (e.g., ordering a product) or can be used to retrieve data (e.g., searching on a search engine).

XHTML/HTML forms

A form in XHTML or HTML is by far the most common way to use a form online.

The following are a list of elements that can make up the user-inputting portion a form:

• input field
  • text – a simple text box that allows input of a single line of text
  • checkbox – a check box
  • radio – a radio button
  • submit – a button that tells the browser to take action on the form (typically to send it to a server)
• textarea – much like the text input field except a textarea allows for multiple rows of data to be shown and entered
• select – a combo box that displays a list of items a user can select from

These basic elements provide most possible graphical user interface (GUI) elements, but not all. For example, there are no equivalents to a combutcons, balloon help, tree views, nor grid views. A grid view, however, can be mimicked by using a stanard HTML table with each cell containing a text input element. A tree view could also be mimicked through nested tables.

XForms

Further information: XForms