Re: [cgiapp] Hidden variable or Query String or Form for run mode access?

[Michael Peters <suppressed>]

Sean Davis wrote:
> On Nov 29, 2004, at 11:05 PM, Kasturirangan Rangaswamy wrote:
> >     I am declaring a hidden HTML variable in each screen as follows
> >
> >     <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME='rm' VALUE='<TMPL_VAR
> > NAME='run_mode_value'>'>
> >
> >     and am setting it's value in my Perl subroutine.
> >
> >     Now, I actually constructed a 'Continue' link on each screen to
> > move to the next one like so:
> >
> >     <a href="">Continue</a>

Links are completely independent of forms. So if a user clicks on a 
link, any information in a form (including hidden fields) are not sent 
for the next request. Just what is in the link's url.

> >     a. Now, I know I could call my instance script and pass it the
> > mode-param variable along with an appropriate value
> >        but I dont like the idea of a query string on my browser address
> > line.
> >
> >     b. Also, I have not been using forms and dont want to if I can get
> > away with that!. So 'POST' is not an option either.
>
> The whole point of using CGI (OK, not the whole point, but...) is to use 
> forms to gather information from the user.  Without forms, you can 
> gather no information from the user; in addition, you cannot gather 
> information from any hidden fields or anything else on the page.  That 
> said, if you want to pass any information from one invocation of your 
> script to the next, you can use GET, POST, save the information on the 
> server side or on the client side in a cookie.  I would vote for doing 
> what you are doing already, but you WILL need a form on your page if you 
> want your script to be able to access the value.  In other words, your 
> script will ever see the INPUT tag above without it being within a form 
> block.  Try putting it in a form block to see if that does the trick.  
> Also, your continue button then can be a simple submit button on the 
> same form.

++


> >     Question is, if (a) and (b) are excluded, is any other way possible
> > for me to use 'Continue' (as a link) and a hidden
> >     variable to move to the next mode. Is there something in that HREF
> > link I may be missing?

You can't exclude both (a) and (b). If you don't want a 
messy/complicated url then you have to use POST. If you don't want to 
use POST then you have to use a GET request which will generate a messy 
url. Why don't you want to use POST? and why don't you want a query 
string on the brower's address bar? It's always one or the other unless 
you want to do some weird javascript stuff that takes the values you are 
getting from the user and stuffing them in cookies... which I would say 
is a bad idea.

--
Michael Peters
Developer
Plus Three, LP


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