Create a new file on your server called form.php
and enter this code. Visit it in your browser and see the result.
<form method='post' action=''> <input type='text' name='search_keyword'> <input type='submit' name='search_button' value='Search'> </form>
<?php echo "<pre>"; print_r($_REQUEST); echo "</pre>"; ?>
<html> <form method='post' action=''> <input type='text' name='forename'> <input type='submit' name='say_hello' value='Say hello'> </form> <?php if(!empty($_REQUEST['forename'])) { echo "Hello {$_REQUEST['forename']}"; } ?> </html>
Add this to the very top of your file to enable error reporting and see how that changes the output of your form.php
file.
<?php error_reporting(E_ALL); ini_set("display_errors", 1); ?>
Note: We'll start with this, then explain how to make it not as full-of-errors :)