Question

For my web application (PHP/MYSQL), I show a list of items and a link on each row to delete the item. Right now, the link is

<a href='item.php?id=3&action=delete'>Delete Item</a> 

If I wanted to use POST instead… how would I do it (this is a dynamically generated list)? Can I send POST data without the use of a form?

Or, for every item, would I have to do:

<form action='item.php?id={$item_id}' method='POST'>     <input type='hidden' name='action' value='delete'>     <input type='submit' value='delete item'> </form> 

and style the submit button to look like the original link?

I am not familiar with php CURL or REST, would they help address this issue?

Answer 1

In general it’s not a good idea to have a GET request that modifies the system state somehow, like deleting an item.

You could have your form look like this:

<form action='item.php' method='POST' id='form'>     <input type='hidden' name='action' value='delete' />     <input type='hidden' name='id' value='{item_id}' />     <a href='' onclick='document.getElementById('form').submit(); return false;'>Delete item</a> </form>