PHP GET Method

The $_GET array contains query parameters from the current URL.

<?php
$name = $_GET['name'] ?? '';
$city = $_GET['city'] ?? '';

echo "Name: " .
    htmlspecialchars($name, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');

echo "<br>";

echo "City: " .
    htmlspecialchars($city, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
?>

Open the page with this URL:

http://localhost/example.php?name=Rahul&city=Patna

Output:

Name: Rahul
City: Patna

The null coalescing operator (??) provides an empty string when a parameter is missing or null. htmlspecialchars() helps prevent HTML injection when displaying text.

This example demonstrates how a GET form can search a small list of students. In a database application, the search term would be used in a prepared SQL query.

<?php
$students = [
    "Rahul",
    "Amit",
    "Priya",
    "Neha",
    "Ravi"
];

$search = trim($_GET['student'] ?? '');
$results = [];

if ($search !== '') {
    foreach ($students as $student) {
        if (stripos($student, $search) !== false) {
            $results[] = $student;
        }
    }
}
?>

<form method="get" action="">
    <label for="student">Search Student:</label>

    <input
        type="text"
        id="student"
        name="student"
        value="<?= htmlspecialchars(
            $search,
            ENT_QUOTES,
            'UTF-8'
        ) ?>"
        placeholder="Enter student name"
    >

    <button type="submit">Search</button>
</form>

<?php
if ($search !== '') {
    echo "<h4>Search Results</h4>";

    if (count($results) > 0) {
        echo "<ul>";

        foreach ($results as $student) {
            echo "<li>" .
                htmlspecialchars(
                    $student,
                    ENT_QUOTES,
                    'UTF-8'
                ) .
                "</li>";
        }

        echo "</ul>";
    } else {
        echo "No students found.";
    }
}
?>

Searching for ra matches Rahul and Ravi because the example performs a case-insensitive substring search.

Practice Assignments

1. Create a GET form that accepts a student's name.
2. Accept a name and city through GET parameters and display them safely.
3. Create a course search form using GET.
4. Build an addition calculator using GET.
5. Create a dropdown to select a course and display the selection.
6. Create a form that accepts a number and displays its square.
7. Create a student search page using an array of names.
8. Display the current request method using $_SERVER.
9. Explain three differences between GET and POST.