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17.0 Forms

A form is a construct whereby the User Agent (browser) can accept data from the user and send it to the server which, presumably, passes it to a program running on the same machine. Form data can also be submitted by mail, but that is not tested here.

When you submit these forms, the data you have set up is passed to a CGI script provided with this test suite which will show what was received. For the script to work, the web server from which you are receiving these pages has to be willing to run the script. On Apache this would mean engaging the SUexec feature. This is commonly done, but not universally. If the feature is engaged but the script still does not run, look in the web server's logs/error_log file for clues why SUexec was paranoid about it.

Only ``successful'' controls should have their values sent to the server (sect. 17.13.3). If a control does not have any data entered by the user, user agents are permitted, but not required, to send the nonexistent data anyway. This would typically be a null string or default value. Test each control with and without a value entered or selected.

Characteristics of the forms that you should test:

The controls are grouped with FIELDSET and descriptive headings (like the initial ``Buttons'') are set off with LEGEND.
All control types with short values are tested with the GET method.
The ``name'' of the control, which is the key sent to the CGI script, is the input type, e.g. ``checkbox'' is the name of the checkbox.
The menu allows multiple selections and should have a scrollbar.
The menu has four OPTGROUPs.
Each control except the reset buttons and the hidden control has a tabindex, but they are ordered from the bottom (the menu) to the top so you can tell if the default order has been affected.
All controls except the menu have a hotkey which is the first letter of the control type, except it's the first letter of the value (lower case) for the radiobuttons, and `g' for the graphical submit button.
There is one hidden control.
There is both a graphical and ordinary submit button.
Most controls have LABELs, and they are grouped by FIELDSETs.

In the next form, all control types are tested with the POST method except for type=button (because scripting languages and their support are beyond the scope of this test suite). The same controls as illustrated above are augmented with long-valued controls. In the filebox, a short text file is suggested. The controls in this section do not have hotkeys.

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