PHP $_POST Function

The $_POST Variable

The predefined $_POST variable is used to collect values from a form sent with method="post".
Information sent from a form with the POST method is invisible to others and has no limits on the amount of information to send.
Note: However, there is an 8 Mb max size for the POST method, by default (can be changed by setting the post_max_size in the php.ini file).

Example

<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
           Name: <input type="text" name="fname" />
           Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
           <input type="submit" />
</form>

When the user clicks the "Submit" button, the URL will look like this:

http://www.phppostexample.com/welcome.php

The "welcome.php" file can now use the $_POST variable to collect form data (the names of the form fields will automatically be the keys in the $_POST array):

Welcome <?php echo $_POST["fname"]; ?>!<br />
You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.

Output 

Welcome John.

You are 27 years old!
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The PHP $_REQUEST Variable

The predefined $_REQUEST variable contains the contents of both $_GET, $_POST, and $_COOKIE.
The $_REQUEST variable can be used to collect form data sent with both the GET and POST methods.

Example

Welcome <?php echo $_REQUEST["fname"]; ?>!<br />
You are <?php echo $_REQUEST["age"]; ?> years old.

Output 

Welcome John.

You are 27 years old!