Adobe ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 1: Getting Started

Pros and Cons of Each Option

Neither of these options is perfect, and they are thus often used together, complementing each other. Table 13.1 lists the pros and cons of each option.

Table 13.1. The Pros and Cons of Client and Server Form Validation

Validation Type	Pros	Cons
Server-side	Very safe, will always work, regardless of the browser used and any browser settings	Not very user-friendly, user must submit form before validation occurs; any errors require resubmission
Client-side	More user-friendly, users prefer knowing what is wrong before form submission	Less safe, not supported by some older browsers; can be disabled, scripting languages have a lengthy learning curve

From a user’s perspective, client-side validation is preferable. Obviously, users ...