Chapter09

Web Development & Design
Foundations with XHTML
Chapter 9
Key Concepts

2
Learning
Outcomes
 In this chapter, you will learn how to:
 Describe common uses of forms on web pages
 Create forms on web pages using the <form>,
<input />, <textarea>, and <select> tags
 Create forms that provide additional accessibility
features using the accesskey and tabindex attributes
 Associate form elements and element groups using the
<label>, <fieldset>, and <legend> tags
 Create custom image buttons and use the <button> tag
to include more variety and richer content than the
standard form button
 Describe the features of CGI
 Invoke server-side processing to handle form data
 Find free CGI resources on the Web

3
Overview
of Forms
 Forms are used all over the Web to
 Accept information
 Provide interactivity
 Types of forms:
 Search form, Order form, Newsletter sign-up
form, Survey form, Add to Cart form, and so
on…

4
Overview
of Forms
Form
 An XHTML element that contains and
organizes other Web document objects
such as
text boxes,
check boxes,
and buttons
that can accept information from web
site visitors.

5
Two Components
of Using Forms
1. The XHTML form
-- the web page user interface
and
2. The server-side processing
CGI - Common Gateway
Interface
CGI works with the form data and
sends e-mail, writes to a text file,
updates a database, or performs
some other type of processing on the
server.

6
XHTML
Using Forms
 <form> tag
 Contains the form elements on a web page
 Container tag
 <input /> tag
 Configures a variety of form elements including text boxes,
radio buttons, check boxes, and buttons
 Stand alone tag
 <textarea> tag
 Configures a scrolling text box
 Container tag
 <select> tag
 Configures a select box (drop down list)
 Container tag
 <option> tag
 Configures an option in the select box
 Container tag

7
<form>
Email: <input type="text" name="CustEmail" id="CustEmail"
/><br />
<input type="submit" />
</form>
Sample Form
XHTML

8
XHTML
<form> element
 The form tag attributes:
 action
 Specifies the server-side program or script that will
process your form data
 method
 get – default value, form data passed in URL
 post – more secure,
form data passed in HTTP Entity Body
 name
 Identifies the form
 id
 Identifies the form

9
XHTML<input /> Element
Text box
 Accepts text information
 Attributes:
 type=“text”
 name
 id
 size
 maxlength
 value

10
Password box
 Accepts text information that needs
to be hidden as it is entered
 Attributes:
 type=“password”
 name
 id
 size
 maxlength
 value

11
Check box
 Allows the user to select one or more
of a group of predetermined items
 Attributes:
 type=“checkbox”
 name
 id
 checked
 value

12
Radio Button
 Allows the user to select exactly one from a
group of predetermined items
 Each radio button in a group is given the
same name and a unique value
 Attributes:
 type=“radio”
 name
 id
 checked
 value

13
XHTML<textarea> Element
Scrolling Text Box
 Configures a scrolling text box
 Attributes:
 name
 id
 cols
 rows

14
XHTML<select> Element
Select List
 Configures a select list (along with <option> tags)
 Also known as: Select Box, Drop-Down List,
Drop-Down Box, and Option Box.
 Allows the user to select one or more items
from a list of predetermined choices.
 Attributes:
 name
 id
 size
 multiple

15
XHTML<option> Element
Options in a Select List
 Configures the options in a Select List
 Attributes:
 value
 selected

16
Submit Button
 Submits the form information
 When clicked:
 Triggers the action method on the <form> tag
 Sends the form data (the name=value pair for
each form element) to the web server.
 Attributes:
 type=“submit”
 name
 id
 value

17
Reset Button
 Resets the form fields to their initial
values
 Attributes:
 type=“reset”
 name
 id
 value

18
Button
 Offers a flexible user interface
 There is no default action when the button
is clicked
 Usually a JavaScript function is invoked
when a button is clicked
 Attributes:
 type=“button”
 name
 id
 value

19
Hidden form data
 This form element is not displayed on the
web page.
 Hidden form fields
 Can be accessed by both client-side and
server-side scripting
 Sometimes used to contain information
needed as the visitor moves from page to
page.
 Attributes:
 type=“hidden”
 name
 id
 value

Checkpoint 9.1
1. You are designing a web site for a client who
sells items in a retail store.
They want to create a customer list for e-mail
marketing purposes. Your client sells to
consumers and needs a form that accepts their
customer’s name and e-mail address.
Would you recommend using two input boxes
(one for the name and one for the e-mail) or
three input boxes (for the first name, last name,
and email address)?
Explain your answer.
21

Checkpoint 9.1
2. You are designing a survey form for a client. One
of the questions has 10 possible responses.
Only one response can be selected per question.
What type of form element would you use to
configure this question on the web page?
3. True or False.
In a radio button group, the value attribute is used
by the browser to process separate elements as a
group.
22

23
<form>
<table border="0" width="75%">
<tr>
<td align="right" width="10%">Name: </td>
<td>
<input type="text" name= "CustName"
id= "CustName " size="30" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="10%">Email: </td>
<td>
<input type="text" name="CustEmail"
id="CustEmail" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="10%">
<input type="submit" value="Submit" /></td>
<td><input type="reset" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
XHTML
Using a
Table to
Format
a Form

24
XHTML Form Enhancements
<label> Element
 Associates a text label with a form
element
 Two Different Formats:
<label>Email: <input type="text"
name="CustEmail" id ="CustEmail" /></label>
Or
<label for="email " >Email: </label><input
type="text" name="CustEmail" id= "email " />

25
<fieldset> & <legend> elements
 The Fieldset Element
 Container tag
 Creates a visual group of form elements on a web page
 The Legend Element
 Container tag
 Creates a text label within the fieldset
<fieldset><legend>Customer Information</legend>
<label>Name:
<input type="text" name="CustName"
id="CustName" size="30" /></label><br />
<label>Email:
id="CustEmail" /></label>
</fieldset>

26
tabindex attribute
 Attribute that can be used on form
elements and anchor tags
 Not supported by all browsers
 Modifies the default tab order
 Assign a numeric value
id="CustEmail" tabindex="1" />

27
accesskey attribute
 Attribute that can be used on form
elements and anchor tags
 Not supported by all browsers
 Create a “hot-key” combination to place
the focus on the component
 Assign a value of a keyboard letter
 On Windows use the CTRL and the “hot-
key” to move the cursor
id="CustEmail" accesskey="E" />

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<input /> Element Image Button
 Submits the form
 When clicked:
 Triggers the action method on the <form> tag
 Sends the form data (the name=value pair for
each form element) to the web server.
 Attributes:
 type=“image”
 name
 id
 src

29
<button> Element
 A container tag
 When clicked, its function depends on the
value of the type attribute.
 Can contain a combination of text, images,
and media
 Attributes:
 type=“submit”, type=“reset”, type=“button”
 name
 id
 alt
 value

30
Checkpoint 9.2
1. Describe the purpose of the fieldset and legend
tags.
2. Describe the purpose of the accesskey attribute
and how it supports accessibility.
3. When designing a form, should you use the
standard submit button, an image button or a
button tag?
Are these different in the way that they provide for
accessibility?
Explain your answer.

31
Using CSS
to Style a Form
 Moderate Approach
 Use a table to format the form but
configure styles instead of XHTML table
attributes.
table { border: 3px solid #000000;
width: 100%;}
td { padding: 5px;
margin: 0px;}
.mylabel { text-align: right;}

32
Using CSS to
Style a Form
“Pure" CSS Approach
 Do not use a table to
format the form.
 Use CSS divs and spans
with positioning properties to
configure the page.
#myForm {border:3px solid #000000;
padding:10px;margin:10px;}
.myRow {height:30px;}
.myRowComments {margin-bottom:20px;}

33
Server-Side
Processing
 Your web browser requests web pages
and their related files from a web server.
 The web server locates the files and
sends them to your web browser.
 The web browser then renders the
returned files and displays the requested
web pages for you to use.

34
CGI
Common Gateway Interface
 A protocol for a web server to pass a web
page user's request to an application
program and accept information to send to
the user.

35
Steps in Utilizing CGI
1. Web page invokes CGI by a form
action or hyperlink, etc...
 Any form information is sent in the form of
name=value pairs to the web server.
2. Script on web server is executed
3. Script accesses requested database,
file, or process
4. Web server returns web page with
requested information or confirmation
of action

36
Common Uses of
Server-Side Scripting &
CGI
 Search a database
 Place an order at an online store
 Send a web page to a friend
 Subscribe to a newsletter
 Any type of server-side file or e-mail
processing is a candidate for CGI

37
Checkpoint 9.3
1. Describe CGI.
2. Code the form tag for a web page
form that will use the post method
to invoke a server-side script
located at
http://webdevfoundations.net/scripts/formdemo.asp

38
Sources of Free
Server-Side Processing
 Many web host providers offer free scripts for their
clients. Contact their support area or FAQ to learn
more about their services.
 Some web sites that offer FREE remotely hosted
scripts (in return for displaying an ad).
 http://formbuddy.com
 http://hostedscripts.com
 http://response-o-matic.com
 http://master.com
 http://www.formmail.com
 http://wufoo.com
 http://iceberg.com
 http://formassembly.com

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Languages that
support CGI
 Programs or scripts that work with CGI
can be written in many languages:
 PHP
 Perl
 C
 C++
 Active Server Pages (ASP)
 Java Server Pages (JSP)
 ASP.NET
 Ruby on Rails
 And so on….

40
Summary
 This chapter introduced the use of
forms on web pages.
 You learned about how to configure
form elements and provide for
accessibility.
 You also learned about CGI and how to
configure a form to access server-side
processing.

Chapter09

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