14.5 Forms

The forms[] array of the Document object contains Form objects that represent any <form> elements in the document. Because HTML forms contain push buttons, text input fields, and the other input elements that usually comprise the GUI of a web application, the Form object is very important in client-side JavaScript. The Form object has an elements[] property that contains objects that represent the HTML input elements contained within the form. These Element objects allow JavaScript programs to set default values in the form and to read the user's input from the form. They are also important sites for the event handlers that add interactivity to a program.

Because forms and their elements are such a large and important part of client-side JavaScript programming, they deserve a chapter of their own. We will return to the forms[] array and the Form object in Chapter 15.