SaranacLake Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Is there anything wrong (or insecure) with using hidden form fields? I am working on a page where the user can choose one of 4 different subscription options. The approach I was going to use is to have a separate form for each plan, and when the user chooses one, submit a hidden form value so my script knows which subscription plan to grab out of the database. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginerjm Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 When the user selects a plan, do you not save that in his "record" for future reference? Once you do that you can always look it up when he logs in and save it as a session var and not have to 'hide' it on the web page. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570390 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barand Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 What's wrong with one form and let the user select from a choice of 4 options? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570393 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaranacLake Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 9:19 PM, ginerjm said: When the user selects a plan, do you not save that in his "record" for future reference? Once you do that you can always look it up when he logs in and save it as a session var and not have to 'hide' it on the web page. Expand You missed what I am doing and the question... I have a page with 3 boxes side by side like this... So each plan would be its own form, but I need a way to send in my $_POST some variable/value so my script knows which plan was chosen and then write that in the shopping cart table. That is the design I want - nothing else. So back to my OP... Is there any problem using hidden form values to pay a product_code to my script? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570394 Share on other sites More sharing options...
requinix Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 10:34 PM, SaranacLake said: You missed what I am doing and the question... Expand Doesn't seem that way to me. 3 minutes ago, SaranacLake said: So each plan would be its own form, Expand Why? You don't need to do that. Managing one form would be simpler than managing three, right? 3 minutes ago, SaranacLake said: but I need a way to send in my $_POST some variable/value so my script knows which plan was chosen and then write that in the shopping cart table. Expand <button>s support a name and value, as well as a separate (HTML) caption displayed to the user. Compare that to regular <input type=button>s which support a name and (string) value, however the value is also used as the caption. 3 minutes ago, SaranacLake said: Is there any problem using hidden form values to pay a product_code to my script? Expand Other than the general design of what you're doing? Not especially. Hidden inputs are for when you want to include data in the form but the user isn't supposed to interact with it. It is no more or less secure than any other form field. You still have to validate it in your script like you would everything else. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570395 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaranacLake Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 10:42 PM, requinix said: Why? You don't need to do that. Managing one form would be simpler than managing three, right? <button>s support a name and value, as well as a separate (HTML) caption displayed to the user. Compare that to regular <input type=button>s which support a name and (string) value, however the value is also used as the caption. Expand Sounds like < button > is HTML5? I'm behind the times and just trying to get my website done... 12 minutes ago, requinix said: Other than the general design of what you're doing? Not especially. Hidden inputs are for when you want to include data in the form but the user isn't supposed to interact with it. It is no more or less secure than any other form field. You still have to validate it in your script like you would everything else. Expand If using hidden values does NOT pose any security risks, then I think I'd prefer to use that approach since it is more familiar to me. May seem funny, but I don't want to start changing my approach when I am 90% done. I can upgrade my approaches when I start on v2.0 next year. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570397 Share on other sites More sharing options...
requinix Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 10:56 PM, SaranacLake said: Sounds like < button > is HTML5? Expand No, it's from HTML 4. People just didn't really start learning about it until HTML 5 and the push towards semantic markup and better web design. 8 minutes ago, SaranacLake said: If using hidden values does NOT pose any security risks, then I think I'd prefer to use that approach since it is more familiar to me. Expand Any additional risks. Besides a developer having a faulty assumption of "well it's hidden from the user so they can't do anything to it". 8 minutes ago, SaranacLake said: May seem funny, but I don't want to start changing my approach when I am 90% done. I can upgrade my approaches when I start on v2.0 next year. Expand "I know it's wrong but we'll do it right next time"... yeah, if I had a nickel every time someone said that to me... Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570398 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaranacLake Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 11:08 PM, requinix said: No, it's from HTML 4. People just didn't really start learning about it until HTML 5 and the push towards semantic markup and better web design. Expand A-ha 26 minutes ago, requinix said: Any additional risks. Besides a developer having a faulty assumption of "well it's hidden from the user so they can't do anything to it". Expand I always scrub user data before using it, so that isn't an issue. I just had a fear that the hidden values could be easily altered by a hacker. 26 minutes ago, requinix said: "I know it's wrong but we'll do it right next time"... yeah, if I had a nickel every time someone said that to me... Expand That's a wrong assertion. I bet that HTML6 and CSS4 will have some improvements over what is currently available. Should I wait until they come out? Using older version of code doesn't necessarily make it "wrong" or "insecure", and "in the real" world, you can't keep perfecting things before you ship them otherwise you never ship anything! Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570399 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kicken Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 11:08 PM, requinix said: No, it's from HTML 4. People just didn't really start learning about it until HTML 5 and the push towards semantic markup and better web design. Expand IE didn't handle <button> properly, that's why it wasn't used/taught so much I believe. Now that the browsers all seem to handle it properly it's more common. I almost always use <button> now days in my stuff so I can label buttons with an icon + text. On 10/6/2019 at 11:37 PM, SaranacLake said: That's a wrong assertion. I bet that HTML6 and CSS4 will have some improvements over what is currently available. Should I wait until they come out? Expand That's not really related at all to the comment made. The current proper method being hypothetically deprecated in the future is completely different than using the old deprecated method now when a better method exists just because you're not familiar with the newer method. Especially when that newer method is not complicated to learn. If you want to use separate forms because it fits your situation better then fine. Sometimes multiple forms is easier to do. Just don't dismiss alternatives simply because they are new. In your situation I'd probably go for a single form and separate buttons. It's easier and less markup overall. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/309340-using-hidden-form-fields/#findComment-1570400 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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