One of the little used TYPEs for the
<INPUT> tag is the FILE type.
This input widget automatically creates a
text field and a "Browse" button that the user can click in order to
select a file to upload from their local hard drive.
It then associates the file contents with
the NAME defined in the <INPUT> tag.
Below is a basic example. Click on the
browse button and see how easy it is to use.
The previous input elements were created
with the following code:
<FORM>
<INPUT TYPE = "FILE" NAME = "upload_file">
</FORM>
The input tag also takes an ACCEPT
attribute that defines which media types are acceptable for upload.
Of course, by default, any type of file can be uploaded.
File handling over HTTP is a little more
complex then simple form data and requires an ENCTYPE of
multipart/form-data. However, we will discuss handling file uploads
tomorrow. For now, you should just familiarize yourself with the
input widget.
