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buttons
Authors may create three types of buttons:
submit buttons: When activated, a submit button submits a form. [p.231] A form may contain
more than one submit button.
reset buttons: When activated, a reset button resets all controls to their initial values. [p.208]
push buttons: Push buttons have no default behavior. Each push button may have client-side
scripts [p.237] associated with the element's event [p.240] attributes. When an event occurs
(e.g., the user presses the button, releases it, etc.), the associated script is triggered.
Authors should specify the scripting language of a push button script through a default script
declaration [p.239] (with the META element).
Authors create buttons with the BUTTON element or the INPUT element. Please consult the
definitions of these elements for details about specifying different button types.
Note. Authors should note that the
BUTTON
element offers richer rendering capabilities than the
INPUT
element.
checkboxes
Checkboxes (and radio buttons) are on/off switches that may be toggled by the user. A switch is "on"
when the control element's selected attribute is set.
When a form is submitted, only "on" checkbox controls can become successful [p.232] . Several
checkboxes in a form may share the same control name. [p.208] Thus, for example, checkboxes
allow users to select several values for the same property. The INPUT element is used to create a
checkbox control.
radio buttons
Radio buttons are like checkboxes except that when several share the same control name [p.208] ,
they are mutually exclusive: when one is switched "on", all others with the same name are switched
"off". The INPUT element is used to create a radio button control.
menus
Menus offer users options from which to choose. The SELECT element creates a menu, in
combination with the OPTGROUP and OPTION elements.
text input
Authors may create two types of controls that allow users to input text. The INPUT element creates a
single-line input control and the TEXTAREA element creates a multi-line input control. In both cases,
the input text becomes the control's current value [p.208] .
file select
This control type allows the user to select files so that their contents may be submitted with a form.
The INPUT element is used to create a file select control.
hidden controls
Authors may create controls that are not rendered but whose values are submitted with a form.
Authors generally use this control type to store information between client/server exchanges that
would otherwise be lost due to the stateless nature of HTTP (see [RFC2068] [p.328] ). The INPUT
element is used to create a hidden control.
object controls
Authors may insert generic objects in forms such that associated values are submitted along with
other controls. Authors create object controls with the OBJECT element.
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17.2.1 Control types