Validation
This section is for detailing validation with the
Validator
class. Validating a model is handled slightly differently via a trait. Please see the Validation Trait section for more information on validating models.
# Basic usage
The validator class is a simple, convenient facility for validating data and retrieving validation error messages via the Validator
class.
# Basic Validation Example
$validator = Validator::make(
['name' => 'Joe'],
['name' => 'required|min:5']
);
The first argument passed to the make
method is the data under validation. The second argument is the validation rules that should be applied to the data.
# Using arrays to specify rules
Multiple rules may be delimited using either a "pipe" character, or as separate elements of an array.
$validator = Validator::make(
['name' => 'Joe'],
['name' => ['required', 'min:5']]
);
# Validating multiple fields
$validator = Validator::make(
[
'name' => 'Joe',
'password' => 'lamepassword',
'email' => 'email@example.com'
],
[
'name' => 'required',
'password' => 'required|min:8',
'email' => 'required|email|unique:users'
]
);
Once a Validator
instance has been created, the fails
(or passes
) method may be used to perform the validation.
if ($validator->fails()) {
// The given data did not pass validation
}
If validation has failed, you may retrieve the error messages from the validator.
$messages = $validator->messages();
You may also access an array of the failed validation rules, without messages. To do so, use the failed
method:
$failed = $validator->failed();
# Validating files
The Validator
class provides several rules for validating files, such as size
, mimes
, and others. When validating files, you may simply pass them into the validator with your other data.
# Working with error messages
After calling the messages
method on a Validator
instance, you will receive a Illuminate\Support\MessageBag
instance, which has a variety of convenient methods for working with error messages.
# Retrieving the first error message for a field
echo $messages->first('email');
# Retrieving all error messages for a field
foreach ($messages->get('email') as $message) {
//
}
# Retrieving all error messages for all fields
foreach ($messages->all() as $message) {
//
}
# Determining if messages exist for a field
if ($messages->has('email')) {
//
}
# Retrieving an error message with a format
echo $messages->first('email', '<p>:message</p>');
Note: By default, messages are formatted using Bootstrap compatible syntax.
# Retrieving all error messages with a format
foreach ($messages->all('<li>:message</li>') as $message) {
//
}
# Error messages & views
Once you have performed validation, you will need an easy way to get the error messages back to your views. This is conveniently handled by October. Consider the following routes as an example:
public function onRegister()
{
$rules = [];
$validator = Validator::make(Input::all(), $rules);
if ($validator->fails()) {
return Redirect::to('register')->withErrors($validator);
}
}
Note that when validation fails, we pass the Validator
instance to the Redirect using the withErrors
method. This method will flash the error messages to the session so that they are available on the next request.
October will always check for errors in the session data, and automatically bind them to the view if they are available. So, it is important to note that an errors
variable will always be available in all of your pages, on every request, allowing you to conveniently assume the errors
variable is always defined and can be safely used. The errors
variable will be an instance of MessageBag
.
So, after redirection, you may utilize the automatically bound errors
variable in your view:
{{ errors.first('email') }}
# Named error bags
If you have multiple forms on a single page, you may wish to name the MessageBag
of errors. This will allow you to retrieve the error messages for a specific form. Simply pass a name as the second argument to withErrors
:
return Redirect::to('register')->withErrors($validator, 'login');
You may then access the named MessageBag
instance from the $errors
variable:
{{ errors.login.first('email') }}
# Available validation rules
Below is a list of all available validation rules and their function:
- Accepted
- Active URL
- After (Date)
- Alpha
- Alpha Dash
- Alpha Numeric
- Array
- Before (Date)
- Between
- Boolean
- Confirmed
- Date
- Date Format
- Different
- Digits
- Digits Between
- Exists (Database)
- Image (File)
- In
- Integer
- IP Address
- Max
- MIME Types
- Min
- Not In
- Nullable
- Numeric
- Regular Expression
- Required
- Required If
- Required With
- Required With All
- Required Without
- Required Without All
- Same
- Size
- String
- Timezone
- Unique (Database)
- URL
# accepted
The field under validation must be yes, on, or 1. This is useful for validating "Terms of Service" acceptance.
# active_url
The field under validation must be a valid URL according to the checkdnsrr
PHP function.
# after:date
The field under validation must be a value after a given date. The dates will be passed into the PHP strtotime
function.
# alpha
The field under validation must be entirely alphabetic characters.
# alpha_dash
The field under validation may have alpha-numeric characters, as well as dashes and underscores.
# alpha_num
The field under validation must be entirely alpha-numeric characters.
# array
The field under validation must be of type array.
# before:date
The field under validation must be a value preceding the given date. The dates will be passed into the PHP strtotime
function.
# between:min,max
The field under validation must have a size between the given min and max. Strings, numerics, and files are evaluated in the same fashion as the size
rule.
# boolean
The field under validation must be able to be cast as a boolean. Accepted input are true
, false
, 1
, 0
, "1"
and "0"
.
# confirmed
The field under validation must have a matching field of foo_confirmation
. For example, if the field under validation is password
, a matching password_confirmation
field must be present in the input.
# date
The field under validation must be a valid date according to the strtotime
PHP function.
# date_format:format
The field under validation must match the format defined according to the date_parse_from_format
PHP function.
# different:field
The given field must be different than the field under validation.
# digits:value
The field under validation must be numeric and must have an exact length of value.
# digits_between:min,max
The field under validation must have a length between the given min and max.
The field under validation must be formatted as an e-mail address.
# exists:table,column
The field under validation must exist on a given database table.
# Basic usage of exists rule
'state' => 'exists:states'
# Specifying a custom column name
'state' => 'exists:states,abbreviation'
You may also specify more conditions that will be added as "where" clauses to the query:
'email' => 'exists:staff,email,account_id,1'
Passing NULL
as a "where" clause value will add a check for a NULL
database value:
'email' => 'exists:staff,email,deleted_at,NULL'
# image
The file under validation must be an image (jpeg, png, bmp, or gif)
# in:foo,bar,...
The field under validation must be included in the given list of values.
# integer
The field under validation must have an integer value.
# ip
The field under validation must be formatted as an IP address.
# max:value
The field under validation must be less than or equal to a maximum value. Strings, numerics, and files are evaluated in the same fashion as the size
rule.
# mimes:foo,bar,...
The file under validation must have a MIME type corresponding to one of the listed extensions.
# Basic usage of MIME rule
'photo' => 'mimes:jpeg,bmp,png'
# min:value
The field under validation must have a minimum value. Strings, numerics, and files are evaluated in the same fashion as the size
rule.
# not_in:foo,bar,...
The field under validation must not be included in the given list of values.
# nullable
The field under validation may be null
. This is particularly useful when validating primitive such as strings and integers that can contain null
values.
# numeric
The field under validation must have a numeric value.
# regex:pattern
The field under validation must match the given regular expression.
Note: When using the regex
pattern, it may be necessary to specify rules in an array instead of using pipe delimiters, especially if the regular expression contains a pipe character.
# required
The field under validation must be present in the input data.
# required_if:field,value,...
The field under validation must be present if the field field is equal to any value.
# required_with:foo,bar,...
The field under validation must be present only if any of the other specified fields are present.
# required_with_all:foo,bar,...
The field under validation must be present only if all of the other specified fields are present.
# required_without:foo,bar,...
The field under validation must be present only when any of the other specified fields are not present.
# required_without_all:foo,bar,...
The field under validation must be present only when the all of the other specified fields are not present.
# same:field
The specified field value must match the field's value under validation.
# size:value
The field under validation must have a size matching the given value. For string data, value corresponds to the number of characters. For numeric data, value corresponds to a given integer value. For files, size corresponds to the file size in kilobytes.
# string:value
The field under validation must be a string type.
# timezone
The field under validation must be a valid timezone identifier according to the timezone_identifiers_list
PHP function.
# unique:table,column,except,idColumn
The field under validation must be unique on a given database table. If the column
option is not specified, the field name will be used.
# Basic usage of unique rule
'email' => 'unique:users'
# Specifying a custom column name
'email' => 'unique:users,email_address'
# Forcing a unique rule to ignore a given ID
'email' => 'unique:users,email_address,10'
# Adding additional where clauses
You may also specify more conditions that will be added as "where" clauses to the query:
'email' => 'unique:users,email_address,NULL,id,account_id,1'
In the rule above, only rows with an account_id
of 1
would be included in the unique check.
# url
The field under validation must be formatted as an URL.
Note: This function uses PHP's
filter_var
method.
# Conditionally adding rules
In some situations, you may wish to run validation checks against a field only if that field is present in the input array. To quickly accomplish this, add the sometimes
rule to your rule list:
$v = Validator::make($data, [
'email' => 'sometimes|required|email',
]);
In the example above, the email
field will only be validated if it is present in the $data
array.
# Complex conditional validation
Sometimes you may wish to require a given field only if another field has a greater value than 100. Or you may need two fields to have a given value only when another field is present. Adding these validation rules doesn't have to be a pain. First, create a Validator
instance with your static rules that never change:
$v = Validator::make($data, [
'email' => 'required|email',
'games' => 'required|numeric',
]);
Let's assume our web application is for game collectors. If a game collector registers with our application and they own more than 100 games, we want them to explain why they own so many games. For example, perhaps they run a game re-sell shop, or maybe they just enjoy collecting. To conditionally add this requirement, we can use the sometimes
method on the Validator
instance.
$v->sometimes('reason', 'required|max:500', function($input) {
return $input->games >= 100;
});
The first argument passed to the sometimes
method is the name of the field we are conditionally validating. The second argument is the rules we want to add. If the Closure
passed as the third argument returns true
, the rules will be added. This method makes it a breeze to build complex conditional validations. You may even add conditional validations for several fields at once:
$v->sometimes(['reason', 'cost'], 'required', function($input) {
return $input->games >= 100;
});
Note: The
$input
parameter passed to yourClosure
will be an instance ofIlluminate\Support\Fluent
and may be used as an object to access your input and files.
# Validating Arrays
Validating array based form input fields doesn't have to be a pain. You may use "dot notation" to validate attributes within an array. For example, if the incoming HTTP request contains a photos[profile]
field, you may validate it like so:
$validator = Validator::make(Input::all(), [
'photos.profile' => 'required|image',
]);
You may also validate each element of an array. For example, to validate that each e-mail in a given array input field is unique, you may do the following:
$validator = Validator::make(Input::all(), [
'person.*.email' => 'email|unique:users',
'person.*.first_name' => 'required_with:person.*.last_name',
]);
Likewise, you may use the *
character when specifying your validation messages in your language files, making it a breeze to use a single validation message for array based fields:
'custom' => [
'person.*.email' => [
'unique' => 'Each person must have a unique e-mail address',
]
],
You may also use "array notation" in your validation rules if you wish. These rules will be converted to "dot notation" automatically on validation.
$validator = Validator::make(Input::all(), [
'photos[profile]' => 'required|image',
'person[][email]' => 'email|unique:users',
]);
# Custom error messages
If needed, you may use custom error messages for validation instead of the defaults. There are several ways to specify custom messages.
# Passing custom messages into validator
$messages = [
'required' => 'The :attribute field is required.',
];
$validator = Validator::make($input, $rules, $messages);
Note: The
:attribute
place-holder will be replaced by the actual name of the field under validation. You may also utilize other place-holders in validation messages.
# Other validation placeholders
$messages = [
'same' => 'The :attribute and :other must match.',
'size' => 'The :attribute must be exactly :size.',
'between' => 'The :attribute must be between :min - :max.',
'in' => 'The :attribute must be one of the following types: :values',
];
# Specifying a custom message for a given attribute
Sometimes you may wish to specify a custom error messages only for a specific field:
$messages = [
'email.required' => 'We need to know your e-mail address!',
];
# Specifying custom messages in language files
In some cases, you may wish to specify your custom messages in a language file instead of passing them directly to the Validator
. To do so, add your messages to an array in the lang/xx/validation.php
language file for your plugin.
return [
'required' => 'We need to know your e-mail address!',
'email.required' => 'We need to know your e-mail address!',
];
Then in your call to Validator::make
use the Lang:get
to use your custom files.
Validator::make($formValues, $validations, Lang::get('acme.blog::validation'));
# Custom validation rules
# Registering a custom validation rule
There are a variety of helpful validation rules; however, you may wish to specify some of your own.
The recommended way of adding your own validation rule is to extend the Validator instance via the extend
method. In an October CMS plugin, this can be added to the boot()
callback method inside your Plugin.php
registration file.
You can extend the Validator instance with your custom validation rule as a Closure
, or as a Rule
object.
# Using Closures
If you only need the functionality of a custom rule specified once throughout your plugin or application, you may use a Closure to define the rule. The first parameter defines the name of your rule, and the second parameter provides your Closure.
use Validator;
public function boot()
{
Validator::extend('foo', function($attribute, $value, $parameters) {
return $value == 'foo';
});
}
The custom validator Closure receives three arguments: the name of the $attribute
being validated, the $value
of the attribute, and an array of $parameters
passed to the rule.
You may also pass a class and method to the extend
method instead of a Closure:
Validator::extend('foo', 'FooValidator@validate');
Once the Validator has been extended with your custom rule, you will need to add it to your rules definition. For example, you may add it to the $rules
array of your model.
public $rules = [
'field' => 'foo'
];
# Using Rule objects
A Rule
object represents a single reusable validation rule for your models that implements the Illuminate\Contracts\Validation\Rule
contract. Each rule object must provide three methods: a passes
method which determines if a given value passes validation, a validate
method which is called on validation and a message
method which defines the default fallback error message.
use Illuminate\Contracts\Validation\Rule;
class Uppercase implements Rule
{
/**
* Determine if the validation rule passes.
*
* @param string $attribute
* @param mixed $value
* @return bool
*/
public function passes($attribute, $value)
{
return strtoupper($value) === $value;
}
/**
* Validation callback method.
*
* @param string $attribute
* @param mixed $value
* @param array $params
* @return bool
*/
public function validate($attribute, $value, $params)
{
return $this->passes($attribute, $value);
}
/**
* Get the validation error message.
*
* @return string
*/
public function message()
{
return 'The :attribute must be uppercase.';
}
}
To extend the Validator with your rule object, you may provide an instance of the class to the Validator extend
method:
Validator::extend('uppercase', Uppercase::class);
Rule
objects should be stored in the /rules subdirectory inside your plugin directory.
# Defining the Error Message
You will also need to define an error message for your custom rule. You can do so either using an inline custom message array or by adding an entry in the validation language file. This message should be placed in the first level of the array.
"foo" => "Your input was invalid!",
"accepted" => "The :attribute must be accepted.",
With Rule
objects, you can set a fallback error message by providing a message
method that returns a string.
When creating a custom validation rule, you may sometimes need to define custom placeholder replacements for error messages. You may do so by making a call to the replacer
method on the Validator facade. You may also do this within the boot
method of your plugin.
public function boot()
{
Validator::replacer('foo', function ($message, $attribute, $rule, $parameters) {
// return a message as a string
});
}
The callback receives 4 arguments: $message
being the message returned by the validator, $attribute
being the attribute which failed validation, $rule
being the rule object and $parameters
being the parameters defined with the validation rule. You may, for example, inject a column name into the message that was defined in the parameters:
public function boot()
{
Validator::replacer('foo', function ($message, $attribute, $rule, $parameters) {
return str_replace(':column', $parameters[0], $message);
});
}
If you wish to support multiple languages with your error messages, you will need to listen for the translator.beforeResolve
event in your plugin, as your plugin's boot
method may be run before translation support is fully enabled.
public function boot()
{
Event::listen('translator.beforeResolve', function ($key, $replaces, $locale) {
if ($key === 'validation.uppercase') {
return Lang::get('plugin.name::lang.validation.uppercase');
}
});
}
# Registering a custom validator resolver
If you wish to provide a large number of custom rules to your application, you can also define a validator resolver. Note that only one resolver may be defined per Validation instance, so it is not recommended to define a resolver in plugins unless you are using your own Validation instance and not the global Validator facade.
To define a resolver, you may provide a Closure to the resolver
method in the Validator facade.
Validator::resolver(function($translator, $data, $rules, $messages, $customAttributes) {
return new CustomValidator($translator, $data, $rules, $messages, $customAttributes);
});
Each rule supported within a resolver is defined using a validateXXX
method. For example, the foo
validation rule would look for a method called validateFoo
. The validate
method should return a boolean on whether a given $value
passes validation.
public function validateFoo($attribute, $value, $parameters)
{
// return whether the value passes validation
}
As with the Validator replacer
method, you may sometimes need to define custom placeholder replacements for error messages. You may do this in a resolver by defining a replaceXXX
method.
protected function replaceFoo($message, $attribute, $rule, $parameters)
{
return str_replace(':foo', $parameters[0], $message);
}
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