hidden field in php

Question

For hidden fields, can i use a field of the type

<input type="hidden" name="field_name" value="<?php print $var; ?>"/>

and retrieve it after the GET / POST method as $_GET['field_name'] / $_POST['field_name'] ?

are there any other ways of using hidden fields in php?

Answer 1

You absolutely can, I use this approach a lot w/ both JavaScript and PHP.

Field definition:

<input type="hidden" name="foo" value="<?php echo $var;?>" />

Access w/ PHP:

$_GET['foo'] or $_POST['foo']

Also: Don't forget to sanitize your inputs if they are going into a database. Feel free to use my routine: https://github.com/niczak/PHP-Sanitize-Post/blob/master/sanitize.php

Cheers!

Answer 2

Yes, you can access it through GET and POST (trying this simple task would have made you aware of that).

Yes, there are other ways, one of the other "preferred" ways is using sessions. When you would want to use hidden over session is kind of touchy, but any GET / POST data is easily manipulated by the end user. A session is a bit more secure given it is saved to a file on the server and it is much harder for the end user to manipulate without access through the program.