HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition

The <input> Tag

Use the <input> tag to define any one of a number of common form “controls,” as they are called in the HTML 4 and XHTML standards, including text fields, multiple-choice lists, clickable images, and submission buttons. Although there are many attributes for the <input> tag, only the type and name attributes are required for each element (only type for a submission or reset button; see the following explanation). And as we describe in detail later, each type of input control uses only a subset of the allowed attributes. Additional <input> attributes may be required based upon which type of form element you specify.

Table 9-1 summarizes the various form <input> types and attributes, required and optional.

Table 9-1. Required and some common form element attributes

<input>

Function:

Creates an input element within a form

Attributes:

accept, accesskey, align, alt, border (), checked, class, dir, disabled, id, lang, maxlength, name, notab (), onBlur, onChange, onClick, onDblClick, onFocus, onKeyDown, onKeyPress, onKeyUp, ...