GET vs POST: When to Use Each
Understand the difference between HTTP GET and POST in PHP.
HTTP Methods in Web PHP
When a browser submits an HTML form, it uses either the GET or POST HTTP method. PHP captures the submitted data via superglobals:
$_GET— data appended to the URL$_POST— data in the request body
GET Method
GET appends form data as query string parameters to the URL:
<!-- HTML form -->
<form method="GET" action="search.php">
<input name="query" type="text">
<button type="submit">Search</button>
</form>
<!-- URL becomes: search.php?query=php+tutorial -->
<?php
$q = $_GET['query'] ?? '';
echo 'You searched for: ' . htmlspecialchars($q);All lessons in this course
- GET vs POST: When to Use Each
- Reading Form Data with Superglobals
- Input Validation Techniques
- Sanitizing User Input