form action="self"

No, action="self" means the form will be submitted to a page named "self" in the current directory.

For instance, if your current url is https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/21926063/form-action-self.html
The form will be submitted to https://www.experts-exchange.com/Web/Web_Languages/HTML/self

If the page does not exist, then you'll get an error404.

Your form uses javascript and javascript is able to modify the form's action before the data is submitted.  This means that your form might work when javascript is enabled even if the "self" page does not exist.

In your case, submitting the form's data is probably not necessary.  Your javascript probably checks if the answer is correct on the client side.  In that case, the value of the "action" attribute does not matter since the data is never submitted.

For your form not to submit the data, have the form's "onsubmit" return false.

In any case, the code you posted can be improved... you should use the "onsubmit" event of the form element and you should not need to use the onclick event on your input/text element.  Also, you should not need to have a <div> AND a <p> as container... that's redundant.  And use padding/margin to modify the spacing instead of <br>.

Assuming the answer is checked on the client side, the final code should look like this:

                    <form id="q1" action="dummy" onsubmit="checkQuestion(this); return false;">
                         <p>Score is the measure of a learner's <input type="text" name="answer" maxlength="15" size="15" />.</p>
                         <input type="reset" name="reset" value="Reset" />
                         <input type="button" name="submit" value="Submit" />
                    </form>

The checkQuestion() function should use the DOM to get the content of the "answer" and probably display some message like "nope, that's wrong" or "yes, that's correct".

perhaps you mean:  target="self"  -- which is a shortcut way of assigning the target to the current frame.  So if your form page is in a frame called "MyFrame", then the two tags below are functionally the same:

<FORM name="myform" action="mypage.html" target="self" >

<FORM name="myform" action="mypage.html" target="MyFrame" >

I'm not referring to "traget"...  "apresto" seems to have the idea i'm referring to.

Allow me to repeat that action="self" does NOT submit the data to the current url.

To hook in to what GrandSchtroumpf has already said...

target="self" tries to load a page called "self" (extentionless) whereas
target="_self" would submit the data to the current URL

So with target="self" you'll likely get... "Page not found" ;)

Regards,
Max.

The attribute "target" and "action" are totally different.

<form action="self" target="self"> would send the data to a page named "self" (www.example.com/self, probably generating a 404 error) using a window or frame named "self" (if it doesn't exist a new window is openned).

<form action="" target="_self"> (notice it's "_self", not "self") would send the data to the same page u are currently on (www.example.com/current_page.php or whatever, not generating a 404) using the same window or frame your form is located.

Some people have already said this, but maybe this way is clearer.

gl every1

uksub, you are supposed to accept the correct answers, not the wrong answers.

Thanks "cyberal".... that's what I was looking for,  "<form action="" target="_self"> ".

uksub - please make a request to community support to reallocate the points to the correct answer, or to reopen the thread so that you can do so, Thanks
 
Apresto

You're welcome, uksub

apresto.... how do i  make a "rquest to community support to reallocate the points"?

Click on support, second link at the top of the page, and just post a question with a link to this question and ask them to reopen the question so you can accept the correct answer