A Text Area Entry field allows multiple lines of entry to be entered by the Web Surfer. Typical uses are to provide comments the Web surfer can enter. The data will be sent back to the CGI program as one field identified by the NAME parameter. The ROWS and COLS fields are fairly self-explanatory.
Text Entry Fields allow the User to enter non formatted, and/or non validated text. For instance, if you we're doing a survey, and you wanted to give the Web Surfer the option of entering his or her name, you could use a text entry field.