PHP Complete Form Example

Certainly! A "complete form" in PHP typically involves creating a form using HTML and then processing the form data using PHP. Here's a simple example to illustrate the process:

Example: Simple Contact Form

1. Create the HTML Form

Create an HTML file named contact_form.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Contact Form</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Contact Us</h1>
    <form action="process_form.php" method="post">
        <label for="name">Name:</label>
        <input type="text" id="name" name="name" required><br><br>

        <label for="email">Email:</label>
        <input type="email" id="email" name="email" required><br><br>

        <label for="message">Message:</label><br>
        <textarea id="message" name="message" rows="4" cols="50" required></textarea><br><br>

        <input type="submit" value="Send">
    </form>
</body>
</html>

2. Process the Form Data

Create a PHP file named process_form.php to handle the form submission:

<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    // Collect and sanitize input data
    $name = htmlspecialchars($_POST['name']);
    $email = htmlspecialchars($_POST['email']);
    $message = htmlspecialchars($_POST['message']);

    // Validate email
    if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
        echo "Invalid email format";
        exit;
    }

    // Process the data (e.g., save to a database or send an email)
    // For this example, we will just display the data
    echo "<h1>Form Submission Successful</h1>";
    echo "<p><strong>Name:</strong> $name</p>";
    echo "<p><strong>Email:</strong> $email</p>";
    echo "<p><strong>Message:</strong><br>$message</p>";
} else {
    echo "Invalid request method.";
}
?>

Explanation:

HTML Form (contact_form.html):
- The <form> tag specifies action="process_form.php" and method="post", which means the form data will be sent to process_form.php using the POST method.
- Various input elements (<input> and <textarea>) are used to collect user data.
- The required attribute ensures that the user must fill in the fields before submitting.
PHP Processing (process_form.php):
- $_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] checks if the request method is POST.
- htmlspecialchars() is used to convert special characters to HTML entities, preventing XSS attacks.
- filter_var() with FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL is used to validate the email format.
- The script then outputs the submitted data or an error message if the email format is invalid.

Output Example:

After filling out the form and submitting it, you might see an output like this:

Form Submission Successful

Name: John Doe
Email: john.doe@example.com
Message:
Hello, I am interested in your services.

If the email format is incorrect, you will see:

Invalid email format

This is a basic example, but real-world scenarios might involve more complex processing, validation, and error handling.

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