5.14. GET requests versus POST requestsLosing part of a customer's order would definitely be a problem for Break Neck. But, it looks like using a POST request might help solve the problem. Let's take a closer look at both types of requests: 5.14.1. GET requests send data in the request URLGET requests send data to the server as part of the request URL: placeOrder.php? Yes, I have an order for Mary Jenkins, at 7081 Teakwood #24C, Dallas, Texas, 75182. She wants a large cheese pizza with thin crust, a 2 liter bottle of diet coke, an order of breadsticks, and a side order of ranch dressing. Oh, and her phone number is (214) 290-8762. placeOrder.php?phone=(214) 290-8762 &address=Mary Jenkins,7081 Teak wood #24C,Dallas,Texas,75182&order=1 Large Cheese Pizza with Thin Crust,2 Liter...In a GET request, data for the server is sent as part of the request URL.This URL can get pretty long... * In an actual request, lots of the special characters in this URL would be encoded by the JavaScript escape() function. We've left it unencoded, though, to make it a little easier to understand.
5.14.2. POST requests send data separate from the request URLIn a POST request, data that has to be sent to the server is kept separate from the URL, and there's no length restriction: placeOrder.php? I have the customer's address, phone number, and order. I'm sending them over via POST, OK? placeOrder.phpData sent with a POST request isn't part of the request URL. Web serverThe server gets the request, and unencodes the POST data. POST dataIn a POST request, the data for the server is encoded and sent along with the request, but is separate from the URL. |