Hi Rick,
Let me summarize what everyone is saying before this turns into a long thread.
Basically, there's no easy and surefire way of determining if JS is enabled on the browser. You need to code your forms and pages in the traditional way that you would any non-JS application. Once you have those pages working correctly with proper server-side validation and handling, then you can look at progressive enhancement to extend the functionality of your pages by leveraging JS, DOM-manipulation and Ajax.
I realize that you're trying to find a way of doing this from a server-side perspective but you're going to end up building a hodge-podge solution that will not be effective. You have some really sharp people giving you the right advice and since I want you to be successful, I highly recommend that you follow their suggestions.
This is the *only* surefire way of ensuring that browsers that have JS disabled will work properly on your site. Otherwise, its a shot in the dark.
Rey... Rick Faircloth wrote:
That's what's motivating the question. I'm trying to take Progressive Enhancement, as I see it, one step further by integrating the enhancement into the server-side process, where possible and applicable. This part concerns return validation result messages back to the form page, or rather back to the page itself, since I'm currently posting the form back to the page its own. If JS is disabled, then I would simply have to refresh the page. If JS is enabled, then I could use <taconite> to place messages on the page without refresh...if I'm understanding everything correctly. Rick
