Page 294 - Beginning PHP 5.3

Part III: Using PHP in Practice
signup process; the fields for the current step are displayed as normal, and the fields for the other two
steps are displayed as hidden fields. For example, displayStep2() outputs hidden fields to store the
values for firstName , lastName , newsletter , and comments , while displaying the fields for the
current step ( gender and favoriteWidget ):

<input type=”hidden” name=”step” value=”2” />
<input type=”hidden” name=”firstName” value=”<?php setValue
( “firstName” ) ?>” />
<input type=”hidden” name=”lastName” value=”<?php setValue(
“lastName” ) ?>” />
<input type=”hidden” name=”newsletter” value=”<?php setValue
( “newsletter” ) ?>” />
<input type=”hidden” name=”comments” value=”<?php setValue
( “comments” ) ?>” />
<label>Your gender:</label>
<label for=”genderMale”>Male</label>
<input type=”radio” name=”gender” id=”genderMale” value=”M”<?php
setChecked( “gender”, “M” )?>/>
<label for=”genderFemale”>Female</label>
<input type=”radio” name=”gender” id=”genderFemale” value=”F”<?php
setChecked( “gender”, “F” )?> />
<label for=”favoriteWidget”>What’s your favorite widget? *</label>
<select name=”favoriteWidget” id=”favoriteWidget” size=”1”>
<option value=”superWidget”<?php setSelected( “favoriteWidget”,
“superWidget” ) ?>>The SuperWidget</option>
<option value=”megaWidget”<?php setSelected( “favoriteWidget”,
“megaWidget” ) ?>>The MegaWidget</option>
<option value=”wonderWidget”<?php setSelected( “favoriteWidget”,
“wonderWidget” ) ?>>The WonderWidget</option>
</select>

By including (and populating) all the fields — whether visible or hidden — in each of the three steps,
the script ensures that the entire signup data is sent back to the server each time a form is submitted,
thereby allowing the data to be carried across the three steps.
Steps 2 and 3 also include Back and Next buttons, whereas step 1 just includes a Next button. Finally,
displayThanks() simply displays the thank - you message to the user.

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