Parsing Form Data - Introduction

Lecture 260:- Parsing Form Data - Introduction

When a user submits a form on a web page, the data entered by the user is sent to the server for processing. The server receives the data and processes it to take appropriate action. To work with the form data on the server, we need to parse it.

Form data can be sent to the server in different formats. The most common formats are:

1. URL-encoded form data: This format is used when the form data is sent using the HTTP POST method. In this format, the data is encoded in the URL query string format.
2. Multipart form data: This format is used when the form data contains binary data such as file uploads. In this format, the data is sent as a series of parts, each containing a section of the data, and separated by a boundary string.

To parse the form data on the server, we need to use a middleware function provided by the Express.js framework. The middleware function reads the incoming request data and populates the request object with the parsed data.

Express.js provides two middleware functions to parse form data:

1. express.urlencoded(): This middleware function is used to parse URL-encoded form data.
2. express.multipart(): This middleware function is used to parse multipart form data.

We can use one of these middleware functions depending on the format in which the form data is being sent. Once the form data is parsed, we can access it in the request object and use it to take appropriate action on the server.