In HTML, forms are used to collect user input and send it to a server for processing (e.g., registration forms, login forms, search boxes).

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1. Basic Form Structure

<form action="submit.php" method="post">
  <label for="name">Name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="name" name="username">
  
  <label for="email">Email:</label>
  <input type="email" id="email" name="useremail">
  
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

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2. Main Form Tags & Attributes

<form>

• action → URL where form data is sent.
• method → HTTP method:
  • GET → sends data in the URL (less secure, for search forms).
  • POST → sends data in the body (more secure, for sensitive data).
• target → where to display the response (_self, _blank, etc.).

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3. Common Form Elements

Tag	Purpose	Example
<input type="text">	Single-line text box	<input type="text" name="username">
<input type="password">	Password field (hides characters)	<input type="password" name="pass">
<input type="email">	Email field (validates format)	<input type="email" name="email">
<input type="number">	Numeric input	<input type="number" min="1" max="10">
<input type="date">	Date picker	<input type="date">
<textarea>	Multi-line text box	<textarea name="message"></textarea>
<input type="radio">	Radio button (select one)	<input type="radio" name="gender" value="male">
<input type="checkbox">	Checkbox (select multiple)	<input type="checkbox" name="hobby" value="music">
<select> + <option>	Drop-down menu	<select><option>Option 1</option></select>
<input type="file">	File upload	<input type="file" name="file">
<input type="submit">	Submit button	<input type="submit" value="Send">
<input type="reset">	Reset form	<input type="reset" value="Clear">
<button>	Custom button	<button>Click Me</button>

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4. Example – Registration Form

<form action="register.php" method="post">
  <label for="fname">First Name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="firstname" required>

  <label for="gender">Gender:</label>
  <input type="radio" name="gender" value="male"> Male
  <input type="radio" name="gender" value="female"> Female

  <label for="hobbies">Hobbies:</label>
  <input type="checkbox" name="hobby" value="reading"> Reading
  <input type="checkbox" name="hobby" value="sports"> Sports

  <label for="country">Country:</label>
  <select id="country" name="country">
    <option value="india">India</option>
    <option value="usa">USA</option>
  </select>

  <br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Register">
</form>

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5. Important Points

• Always give name attributes to form elements — this is how data is sent to the server.
• Use label with for="id" to make forms accessible.
• Use required to make a field mandatory.
• Use CSS for better design (HTML forms are plain by default).

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