Using HTML Quickform for Form Processing - Checkbox, Radio

(Page 6 of 13 )

The checkbox element produces an HTML <input type="checkbox"> tag. The value attribute of this input tag is always set to 1.

These are the valid arguments when creating a checkbox element:

• $elementName: The name attribute of the element’s <input> tag

• $elementLabel: The label of the element in the form

• $text: The display text

• $attributes: Arbitrary element attributes, as a string or an associative array It takes the following methods:

• setChecked(): Sets the checked attribute, which causes a check to be displayed inside the checkbox

• getChecked(): Gets the value of the checked attribute

• setText(): Sets the display text printed to the right of the checkbox

• getText(): Gets the display text printed to the right of the checkbox

The following is the sample usage:

$form->addElement('checkbox','redeye','Red Eye OK?',
         '(Check if a late night flight is acceptable.)');

This is the sample HTML:

<input name="redeye" type="checkbox" value="1" id="qf_ca4d9a" /> <label for="qf_ca4d9a"<(Check if a late night flight is acceptable.) </label>

The for attribute of the <label< tag corresponds to the id attribute of the <input> tag. This ID value is generated internally by HTML_QuickForm.

If a checkbox is left unchecked in a submitted form, then an element with the name of the checkbox isn’t defined at all in the array of submitted form variables. If the checkbox is checked, then the element with the same name as the checkbox has a value of 1 in the array of submitted form variables.

radio

The radio element produces an HTML <input type="radio"> tag. Radio buttons are like checkboxes, but if you put multiple radio buttons with the same name in one form, the browser only lets one radio button be selected at a time.

These are the valid arguments when creating a radio element:

• $elementName: The name attribute of the element’s <input> tag

• $elementLabel: The label of the element in the form

• $text: The display text

• $value: The value attribute of the element’s <input> tag

• $attributes: Arbitrary element attributes, as a string or an associative array

The following is the sample usage:

$form->addElement('radio','when','Departure:','Depart in the morning','morning');
$form->addElement('radio','when',null,'Depart in the afternoon','afternoon');
$form->addElement('radio','when',null,'Depart in the evening','evening');

The following is the sample HTML:

<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"><b>Departure:</b></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><input name="when" value="morning"
type="radio" id="qf_27dde5" /><label for="qf_27dde5">Depart in the
morning</label></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"><b></b></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><input name="when" value="afternoon"
type="radio" id="qf_2316ca" /><label for="qf_2316ca">Depart in the
afternoon</label></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" valign="top"><b></b></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><input name="when" value="evening"
type="radio" id="qf_f7bf3f" /><label for="qf_f7bf3f">Depart in the
evening</label></td>
</tr>

Each radio button <input> element has the same name but a different value. If the user chooses the Depart in the morning radio button, then the value of the when element of the submitted form variable array is "morning". If the user chooses the Depart in the afternoon or Depart in the evening radio buttons, the value of the submitted form variable is afternoon or evening, respectively.

This chapter is from Essential PHP Tools: Modules, Extensions, and Accelerators, by David Sklar, (Apress, 2004, ISBN: 1590592808). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now.

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Comments On: Using HTML Quickform for Form Processing

· Any idea what version this comes in for the PEAR distribution?    · If you follow the example code for uploading a file you may get frustrated that the...    · Sorry,but I'd rather work in the old fashion way. You have much more control...    · I think page 13 of the article, "Using HTML Quickform for Form Processing - Setting...    · it's a really good tutorial. thank you again    · Good intro, but you don't seem to have anything about setting default values, which...    · Of course there is a method to set default values:e.g....    · can you give me an example re: the client-side validation on custom rule.. the...   >>> Post your comment now!