Submit a form using <a> anchor element, without javascript

Question

How to replace the submit button with a link without using javascript ? is there any way to add the submit attribute to a link ? because the form will not be sent by a simple link without "submit".

<form:form action="/getPage" >
     <div class="buttons">

         <a class="link" href=""> 
           <img src="icon.png" />
         </a>

     </div>         
</form:form>

I work in an application web so if i use javascript the link will not be mapped by the server ..

Answer 1

You can not submit a form using an <a> tag alone. You will need some type of javascript to assist, if you insist on using the <a> tag:

<a href="#" onclick="$(this).closest('form').submit()">Submit the Form</a>

or

<a href="#" onclick="document.getElementById('form-id').submit()">Submit the Form</a>

or super hack:

<a href="backendPage.php?param1=yes&param2=no">Submit the Form</a>, then on backendPage.php you can use $_GET requests to process information, and redirect the visitor to the intended page. But that's a horrible idea haha