HTML5 Forms

The HTML5 forms provide a convenient way to create consistent screens in your application for accepting user input.

In the past, the Web form allowed you to accept user input before transmitting it to a server. With HTML5, you can now improve the user experience without having to use JavaScript by adding simple features, for example, email validity checks and date pickers, and using more advanced functionality, such as security checks and input value pattern definitions.

With HTML5 forms, you can use new elements, input element types, and input element attributes.

Creating a Basic Login Form

To create simple user input forms, you must learn to use the HTML5 features in Web forms:

  1. Create a simple form where the user can enter their login details (email address and password):

    <form action="" method="">
       <label>email: <input type="text"/></label>
       <label>password: <input type="password"/></label>
    
       <input type="submit" value="Login"/>
    </form>
    
  2. To check the validity of the entered email address automatically, add the required attribute to the input element with the email type:

    <label>email: <input type="email" required /></label>
    
  3. Define the password field as mandatory by using the required attribute in that input element too:

    <label>password: <input type="password" required /></label>
    
  4. Because a device has limited space on the screen, remove the field labels and replace them with hint texts using the placeholder attribute:

    <input type="email" placeholder="e-mail address" required />
    <input type="password" placeholder="password" required />
    

The final form that checks the email validity and requires the mandatory password input is complete:

<form action="" method="">
   <fieldset>
      <legend>Login</legend>
      <input type="email" placeholder="e-mail address" required />
      <input type="password" placeholder="password" required />
   </fieldset>

   <input type="submit" value="Login"/>
</form>

Source Code

For the complete source code related to this use case, see the following file:

Creating an Advanced Login Form

To create advanced user input forms, you must learn to use the HTML5 features in Web forms:

  1. Create a login form that checks the email validity and requires the mandatory password input:

    <form action="" method="">
       <fieldset>
          <legend>Login</legend>
          <input type="email" placeholder="e-mail address" required />
          <input type="password" placeholder="password" required />
       </fieldset>
    
       <input type="submit" value="Login"/>
    </form>
    
  2. When the form page is loaded on the screen, put the focus automatically to the email field by using the autofocus attribute:

    <input type="email" placeholder="e-mail address" required autofocus />
    
  3. To spare the user from filling in information that they have given previously, use the autocomplete attribute, which shows the previously successfully inserted entries in a datalist, from which the user can select and use them.

    You can apply the autocomplete attribute to a specific field by adding it to the appropriate input element. If you add it to the form element, it applies to all child elements within the form.

    <form action="" method="" autocomplete="on">
    
  4. In general, apply the autocomplete attribute to the form element, and then separately set it to off for those fields that must not use it.

    In the following example, the password field must not use autocomplete, to prevent unauthorized access by any user.

    <input type="password" placeholder="password" required autocomplete="off"/>
    
  5. Protect the password with private and public key pair using the keygen element.

    The element is used to transform the data sent from the connected form to a pair of encrypted keys using the RSA (Rivest Shamir Adleman) method. When the input data is sent from the form, the private key is saved in the local computer, and the public key is delivered to the server. Only if the keys match, the login process proceeds forwards.

    <keygen name="keyvalue">
    
  6. Use the pattern attribute to perform a validity check that ensures that the password field value matches the given regular expression. The required attribute is used to ensure that the field value must be entered and then the validity check can be performed.

    In the following example, the password only accepts numbers and letters of the alphabet. If an invalid value is entered, the login cannot proceed.

    <input type="password" placeholder="password" required
           pattern="[a-zA-Z]+[0-9]+[a-zA-Z0-9]*|[0-9]+[a-zA-Z]+[a-zA-Z0-9]*"
           autocomplete="off"/>
    
  7. Define the required length of the password within the pattern attribute.

    In the following example, the password must be 6 to 12 characters long.

    <input type="password" placeholder="password" required
           pattern="(?=([a-zA-Z]+[0-9]+[a-zA-Z0-9]*|[0-9]+[a-zA-Z]+[a-zA-Z0-9]*)).{6,12}"
           autocomplete="off"/>
    

The final form with autofocus and autocomplete features, strengthened security, and password value requirements is complete:

<form action="" method="" autocomplete="on">
   <fieldset>
      <legend>Login</legend>
      <input type="email" placeholder="e-mail address" required autofocus />
      <input type="password" placeholder="password" required
             pattern="(?=([a-zA-Z]+[0-9]+[a-zA-Z0-9]*|[0-9]+[a-zA-Z]+[a-zA-Z0-9]*)).{6,12}"
             autocomplete="off"/>
   </fieldset>

   <keygen name="keyvalue">

   <input type="submit" value="Login"/>
</form>

New HTML5 Elements

The following table lists the new elements available for your forms in HTML5. For a complete source code, see elements.html.

Table: New HTML5 elements

Element Description Example
datalist (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Defines a set of option elements that represent predefined options for other controls. The element is used together with the input element to predefine its value.

In Tizen, the value selected in the datalist element can be edited.

<input type="text" list="search"/>
<datalist id="search">
   <option value="Tomato">Tomato</option>
   <option value="banana">banana</option>
   <option value="Watermelon">Watermelon</option>
</datalist>
keygen (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Defines a control for generating a public-private key pair and for submitting the public key from that key pair. The element creates an encrypted key with the value of the name attribute, saves it in the user's computer and Web server, and activates the next procedure when the 2 values match.
<label>user:<input type="text" name="user_name"/></label>
<label>keygen:<keygen name="keygen"/></label>
meter (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Represents a scalar measurement within a known range (the distribution of the assigned range), or a fractional value.
<meter value="75" min="0" max="100" low="60" high="80" optimum="81">
   75/100
</meter>
output (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Represents the result of a calculation. The element generally shows the calculated result of the value that the user has entered, and is used within the form element.
<fieldset onsubmit="return false"
          oninput="foobar.value = parseInt(foo.value) * parseInt(bar.value)">
   <input type="number" id="foo" name="foo"/> *
   <input type="number" id="bar" name="bar"/> =
   <output for="foo bar" name="foobar"></output>
</fieldset>
progress (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Represents the progress of a task.
<progress value="75" max="100">
   75/100
</progress>

New Input Element Types

The following table lists the new input element types available for your forms in HTML5. Many of the new elements activate a specific keyboard suitable for the type of value the user is expected to enter (for example, an email or URL). For a complete source code, see types.html.

Table: New input element types

TypeDescriptionExample
color (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Select an HSL color from the color picker. The value format is HEX (#0099ff).
<input type="color"
       value="#ff0000"/>
<input type="datetime"
       value="2012-12-12T03:30Z"/>
<input type="email"
       required />
<input type="number"
       step="3"/>
<input type="range"
       min="1" max="10"/>
<input type="tel"/>
<input type="url"/>
date (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Enter a date with no time zone (yyyy-mm-dd).
datetime Enter a date and time with the (UTC) time zone (yyyy-mm-ddTtt:mmZ).
datetime-local Enter a date and time with no time zone (yyyy-mm-ddTtt:mm).
email (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Enter an email address with the email keyboard.
If the required attribute is used, the system checks whether the input format is in line with the ABNF regular expression (1*(atext / ".") "@" ldh-str 1*("." ldh-str)).
month Enter a year and month with no time zone (yyyy-mm).
number (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications)Enter numbers with the number keyboard.
range (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Select a value from the slider.
search (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) No specific functionality is defined for this element in the HTML5 specifications.
tel (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Enter a phone number with the number keyboard.
time (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Enter a time with no time zone (tt:mm:ss).
url (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications)Enter a URL with the URL keyboard.
week Enter a year and week with no time zone (yyyy-week).

New Input Element Attributes

The following table lists the new input element attributes available for your forms in HTML5. For a complete source code, see attributes.html.

Table: New input element attributes

Attribute Description Example
autocomplete (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Prefilling feature, which helps the users by, for example, prefilling the user's address based on earlier user input.

The text used by the user before (such as an input element) is listed in a datalist form. The attribute can be used in all form elements, and is activated if the value is "on" and deactivated if the value is "off".

<input type="range" min="1" max="10"/>
<input type="tel" pattern="[0-9]+" required />
<input placeholder="You know what to do, huh?"/>
<input type="number" step="3"/>
min and max (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications)Allowed range of values for the element.
pattern (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Regular expression against which the control's value is checked.

The attribute can be used to check the validity of the form data. During service, a guide requiring the input format from the user is necessary.

placeholder (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Short hint intended to aid the user with the data entry.

The attribute can be used in the majority of form elements for various purposes, such as hint text or advertisement.

required (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Boolean attribute which, when specified, defines that the element is mandatory.
step (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) Granularity expected of the value, limiting the allowed values.
  • Dependencies
    • Tizen 2.4 and Higher for Mobile
    • Tizen 2.3.1 and Higher for Wearable
    • Tizen 3.0 and Higher for TV