How do you retrieve data from a form in PHP?

In PHP, you retrieve data from a form using the $_POST or $_GET superglobal arrays, depending on the form's method. Here's a basic example for each method:

Using $_POST:

If your form uses the POST method, you retrieve data like this:

HTML Form:

<form method="post" action="process_form.php">
    <label for="name">Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="name" name="name">
    <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

PHP Script (process_form.php):

<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    $name = $_POST['name'];
    echo "Name: " . htmlspecialchars($name);
}
?>

Using $_GET:

If your form uses the GET method, you retrieve data like this:

HTML Form:

<form method="get" action="process_form.php">
    <label for="name">Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="name" name="name">
    <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

PHP Script (process_form.php):

<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "GET") {
    $name = $_GET['name'];
    echo "Name: " . htmlspecialchars($name);
}
?>

Key Points:

• Use $_POST for data sent via POST (which hides data from the URL).
• Use $_GET for data sent via GET (which appends data to the URL).
• Always sanitize user input using functions like htmlspecialchars() to avoid XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks.

Feel free to ask if you need more details on form handling or anything else!