File uploads using HTML forms
In Chapter 6, Forms, we learned about HTML forms. We discussed how to use the method
attribute of <form>
for the GET
or POST
requests. And so far, we have only submitted text data using a form, but it is also possible to submit one or more files using a form.
When submitting files, we must ensure that there are at least two attributes on the form: method
and enctype
. You may still also need other attributes, such as action
. A form that supports file uploads might look like this:
<form method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
File uploads are only available for POST
requests. They are not possible with GET
requests, as it would be impossible to send all the data for a file through a URL. The enctype
attribute must be set to let the browser know it should send the form data as multiple parts, one part for the text data of the form and separate parts for each of the files that have been attached to the form. This...