How to Prevent a Button from Submitting a Form in HTML?

Buttoning Up: Preventing Form Submission

In the realm of HTML forms, an aspiring button faces an unexpected conundrum: despite its innocuous nature, it triggers form submission when clicked. This behavior may seem counterintuitive, especially considering its intended purpose of invoking custom JavaScript functions.

To resolve this issue, HTML introduces the concept of the "type" attribute for buttons. By default, buttons assume the "submit" type, causing form submission upon activation. To rectify this problem, developers must explicitly set the button's type to "button" as follows:

<button type="button">My Button</button>

This designation ensures that the button behaves as a pure button, devoid of form submission capabilities.

Historical Roots

Prior to the advent of the "type" attribute, browsers treated buttons as inherently submissive elements. This behavior stemmed from the original form submission mechanism, which relied on the presence of an explicit submit button. Hence, to maintain backward compatibility, the default button behavior remained that of submission.

Standards Update

The HTML Living Standard, along with the HTML 5 specification, has codified the missing value and invalid value defaults for the button element as the "Submit Button" state. This specification further underscores the importance of using the "type" attribute to explicitly define the button's intended functionality.

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