In this part four of a series on HTML form handling with PHP, it explains how to create a powerful PHP form handler, called Phorm Manager. Topics include: Design goals, Internal data management, form validation, and more. Full source code available.
Tutorial Details:
PHP Tutorial
In the last article , the Phanatic was leading an expedition into a largely uncharted area. The conceptual project was a generalized form handler. The task's starting point was Matt Wright's famous "formmail" and included adding many more bells and whistles. While putting together the last tome, time and space were closing in on us, and in an effort not to strain the Phanatic's rapidly aging brain, we pulled into shore for a rest. Let's review the project's design goals before setting out to sea again.
Design goals
The desirable conceptual characteristics of the form handler and the developed script should, based upon the form designer's choice:
Display a neatly formatted output of the form's variables
E-mail a neatly formatted output of the form's variables to a designated recipient
Optionally send a neatly formatted receipt to the form's submitter
At the conclusion of the process, redirect the user's browser to a designated URL, or display a "thank you" message
Validate designated fields for non-null, e-mail address, ZIP code, and numeric
Allow user selection of cosmetic properties
Allow users maximum latitude in the selection of form names
Permit section headers
Include selected environment variables in the output display
Some of the task's more challenging programming considerations are:
Detect if the form was submitted using the GET or POST method
Delineate between HIDDEN control variables and unknown user variables
For security reasons, only allow e-mail requests from designated domains
Deal with form elements having multiple values
Validate selected fields such as e-mail addresses, ZIP codes, and numeric data.
Some of these issues were stowed away in the last article , so you might want to review that tome before continuing.
The Phanatic is a little late with this column because, as usual, things take longer than estimated, especially with a Herculean task like this one. This is a major script and as such deserves a special name. After burning some midnight oil and injecting enough sugar to kill a small colony of rodents, we have it: "The Phorm Manager," possibly a little grandiose, but what's the point of being a Phanatic if one is not somewhat pompous.
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