Methods GET and POST
Methods GET and POST both refer to how the browser sends information to the destination web page (or software).
The URL in the browser's address bar is the destination. (There may be redirects or other operations that occur and change the destination, but those are out of the scope of this article.)
Links that are clicked to go to a web page are method GET. When information is sent to the web page being linked to, it can be sent as part of the URL. The information is appended to the URL with a "?" character.
Here is a URL with information appended to the URL.
http://example.com/page.php?name=will&state=awake
In the above illustration, "name=will&state=awake" is the information appended to the URL. That is method GET.
When the browser reaches the server with method GET, the information is recorded in the server logs.
Forms usually employ method POST to send the form information with the browser as it travels to the receiving web page or software.
Here is an example form that can be copied to submit method POST. If this were a working form then when the button was tapped the form information would travel to http://example.com/page.php as method POST. (The example form is followed by the source code for the form.)
Name:<form metod="post" action="http://example.com/page.php"> Name: <input style="width:200px;"> <br><input type="button" style="width:calc(200px + 4.7em);" value="Submit" onclick="alert('Example form, not for use.'); return false;"> </form>
Method POST information cannot be seen by the person using the browser. It travels with the browser behind the scenes, so to speak.
When the browser reaches the server with method POST, the information is not recorded in the server logs.
Another difference between the two is that the amount of information generally is limited to a kilobyte with method GET and several or many megabytes with method POST. The limit for both methods is determined by the server at the browser's destination.
Will Bontrager
