$_POST is empty after form submission

Question

I set up this test page up on my server. Please tell me why the $_POST array does not contain anything even when I submit the form. I have tried this in three different browsers and nothing happens.

<?php print_r($_POST);?>

<form method="post">

<p><label>Email: </label>
<input type="text" id="login_email" />
</p>

<p><label>Password: </label>
<input type="password" id="login_password" />
</p>

<p><label>Remember Me?: </label>
<input type="checkbox" id="login_remember" />
</p>

<p>
<input type="submit" value="Login" />
</p>

</form>

I have been writing PHP for years and this has never happened before. What is wrong with this code?

Answer 1

Your input elements do not have name attributes. Should be:

<input type="text" id="login_email" name="login_email" />

If an input element does not have a name attribute, it is not sent as part of the POST data.

Answer 2

Well, you don't have an action for the form tag? It should be the script name:

<form method="post" action="scriptname.php">

...and you're also not setting the names for each form input - the browser doesn't submit the ID as the element name.

Answer 3

<form method="POST" action="<?php echo $PHP_SELF; ?>

<p><label>Email: </label>
<input type="text" name="login_email" />
</p>

<p><label>Password: </label>
<input type="password" name="login_password" />
</p>

<p><label>Remember Me?: </label>
<input type="checkbox" name="login_remember" />
</p>

<p>
<input type="submit" value="Login" />
</p>

</form>

Answer 4

There's no name attribute for the input elements.

Answer 5

I suggest you write something like the follow functions based on the Zend_View helpers.

formText($name, $value = null, array $attribs = null)
formPassword($name, $value = null, array $attribs = null)
formLabel($id, $text, array $attribs = null)
formHidden($name, $value = null, array $attribs = null)
formSubmit($name = null, $text = null, array $attribs = null)
formSelect($name, $selected, array $attribs = null, array $options = null)
formCheckbox($name, $default, array $attribs = null, array $options = null)

Then you will never forget/miss something like this again.

<form method="POST" action="<?php echo $PHP_SELF; ?>

<p>
<?php
echo formLabel('login_email', 'Email'), ':',
     formText('login_email'); 
?>
</p>

<p>
<?php
echo formLabel('login_password', 'Password'), ':',
     formPassword('login_password'); 
?>
</p>

<p>
<?php
echo formCheckbox('login_remember'), ' ', 
     formLabel('login_remember', 'Remember me');
?>
</p>

<p>
<?php
echo formSubmit(null, 'Login');
?>
</p>
</form>

Tip:

• If id not defined in attribs, id is the same as name, except for labels where id is used in the for="$id" attribute and formHidden should not have a default id either.
• formCheckbox writes a formHidden by same name before itself with the negative value, so you get a return value if the checkbox is not checked as well.
• formCheckbox options is an array with the values for checked or unchecked.
• Use a filter with FILTER_VALIDATE_BOOLEAN to read the return value from a checkbox to check if it was marked or not.

Answer 6

All of your input elements need a name attribute.

Answer 7

You forgot the name attributes for making your script work. You also can include the "for" tag in your labels to match your input's names attributes. This isn't a requirement but can help with CSS formating of your form:

<p>
<label for="login_email">Email: </label>
<input type="text" name="login_email" id="login_email" />
</p>

Helps match everything of and keep your code more streamline and readable if you have to come back to it 6 months later. The action attribute if you aren't going to populate one I would include this as your action:

<form method="POST" action="<?php echo $PHP_SELF; ?>

This will make sure your page is good as far as the form's requirements as well as do as your script should execute. Seems like a simple over-sight. Hope this helps.