The form method attribute specifies how to send form-data on action attribute. This form data sent as URL variables / HTTP post using GET and POST transition method. Form GET method used to access data from specific location/ resource. Form POST method used to send form data to server side.
The following table compares the two HTTP methods: GET and POST ::
| Basic Comparision | Get Method | Post Method |
|---|---|---|
| BACK button / Reload | Harmless | Data will be re-submitted (the browser should alert the user that the data are about to be re-submitted). |
| Bookmarked | Can be bookmarked | Cannot be bookmarked |
| Cached | Can be cached | Not cached |
| Encoding type | application/x-www-form-urlencoded | application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data. Use multipart encoding for binary data |
| History | Parameters remain in browser history | Parameters are not saved in browser history |
| Restrictions on data length | Yes, when sending data, the GET method adds the data to the URL; and the length of a URL is limited (maximum URL length is 2048 characters) | No restrictions |
| Restrictions on data type | Only ASCII characters allowed. | No restrictions. Binary data is also allowed. |
| Security | GET is less secure compared to POST because data sent is part of the URL never use GET when sending passwords or other sensitive information!. | POST is a little safer than GET because the parameters are not stored in browser history or in web server logs. |
| Visibility | Data is visible to everyone in the URL | Data is not displayed in the URL |