forms - Can <input> elements have capital letters and spaces in PHP

Question

Do <input> elements in forms need to be a single word, either in totality or using an underscore, or can they have spaces?

<input name="This is a name" />

<?php var_dump($_POST['This is a name']); ?>

Answer 1

A form name attribute may contain spaces, but you will find that in PHP the spaces (and periods) are replaced with underscores in the $_GET / $_POST / $_REQUEST arrays:

<pre><?php var_dump($_REQUEST, $_GET, $_POST); ?></pre>

<form method="get">
    <input name="This is a name" value="This is a value" />
    <input type="submit" />
</form>

With either "get" or "post" methods, the input will be keyed This_is_a_name.

Reference: PHP: Variables From External Sources (Note below example)