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diff --git a/docs/formoverloading.md b/docs/formoverloading.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cab47db9 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/formoverloading.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +Supporting browser-based PUT & DELETE +===================================== + +> "There are two noncontroversial uses for overloaded POST. The first is to *simulate* HTTP's uniform interface for clients like web browsers that don't support PUT or DELETE" - [RESTful Web Services](1), Leonard Richardson & Sam Ruby. + +This is the same strategy as is used in [Ruby on Rails](2). + +Overloading the HTTP method +--------------------------- + +For example, given the following form: + + <form action="/news-items/5" method="POST"> + <input type="hidden" name="_method" value="DELETE"> + </form> + +`request.method` would return `"DELETE"`. + +Overloading the HTTP content type +--------------------------------- + +Browser-based submission of content types other than form are supported by using form fields named `_content` and `_content_type`: + +For example, given the following form: + + <form action="/news-items/5" method="PUT"> + <input type="hidden" name="_content_type" value="application/json"> + <input name="_content" value="{'count': 1}"> + </form> + +`request.content_type` would return `"application/json"`, and `request.content` would return `"{'count': 1}"` + +Why not just use Javascript? +============================ + +**[TODO]** + +Doesn't HTML5 support PUT and DELETE forms? +=========================================== + +Nope. It was at one point intended to support `PUT` and `DELETE` forms, but was later [dropped from the spec](3). There remains [ongoing discussion](4) about adding support for `PUT` and `DELETE`, as well as how to support content-types other than form-encoded data. + +[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Restful-Web-Services-Leonard-Richardson/dp/0596529260 +[2]: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/form_helpers.html#how-do-forms-with-put-or-delete-methods-work +[3]: http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-diff/#changes-2010-06-24 +[4]: http://amundsen.com/examples/put-delete-forms/ |