CodeIgniter Form Validation - Get the Result as "array" Instead of "string"

Question

I am writing my form validation class using CodeIgniter. Is there any way so that I can get error messages in name value pair? For example, in a sample form there are four fields: user_name, password, password_conf, and timezone. Among them user_name and password validation has failed after executing the following:

$result = $this->form_validation->run();

If the above function returns false, I want to get the errors in name value pairs like the following:

Array
{
  'user_name' => 'user name is required',
  'password' => 'passord is required'
}

I truly want to form a JSON, which I can pass back to the AJAX call. I have a (dirty) solution: I can call validation methods one by one like the following:

$this->form_validation->required($user_name);
$this->form_validation->required($password);

Is there any other way, to get all the error messages at once in name value pair?

EDIT: I was suggested to do validation with jQuery from one of the answers:

jQuery will help in client side validation, but what about server side, there I am using CodeIgniter validation.

I have designed it so that:

I post all the values using AJAX.
Validate in server side (PHP).
Perform the desired operation if the inputs are valid; else return error to the user.

Sabya · Accepted Answer · 2009-01-22 15:05:59Z

16

I have found one way myself by looking into the CodeIgniter code: I have extended the library CI_Form_validation like: -

class MY_Form_validation extends CI_Form_validation
{
    public function getErrorsArray()
    {
        return $this->_error_array;
    }
}

I know, this is a hack, but will serve my need for the time. I hope CodeIginter team soon come up with an interface to access that array.

answered Jan 22, 2009 at 15:05

Sabya

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6 Comments

thenetimp Over a year ago

It's not a hack at all, that's what OOP is all about. I am walking down the exact same road, and this is my end game since I see no other alternative.

King Julien Over a year ago

This is definitively a good solution. Shame on codeigniter for not having this functionality natively!

Deepak Thomas Over a year ago

This doesn't return a value though. Any idea why? When I dump the $this pointer, I see that _error_array is protected. The array always returns empty.

Deepak Thomas Over a year ago

Works! Regarding last comment, my bad. I was dumping the array before the form_validation->run() and hence the empty array.

MYNE Over a year ago

dont call oops a hack!!

|

masterFly · Accepted Answer · 2016-11-13 20:02:05Z

5

You can simply use,

$this->form_validation->error_array();

This is from the class reference documentation of CodeIgniter.

answered Nov 13, 2016 at 20:02

masterFly

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Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:34:45Z

1

The solution I like best doesn't involve adding a function anywhere or extending the validation library:

$validator =& _get_validation_object();
$error_messages = $validator->_error_array;

Reference: http://thesimplesynthesis.com/post/how-to-get-form-validation-errors-as-an-array-in-codeigniter/

You should be able to call this at any point in your code. Also, it's worth noting there is a newer thread that discusses this as well.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:34

CommunityBot

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answered Mar 21, 2013 at 14:35

josephdpurcell

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1 Comment

masterFly Over a year ago

$this->form_validation->error_array(); is already in the library. Why not use it?

Kieu Duy · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-08 18:13:46Z

You can create an private function in your controller

    private function return_form_validation_error($input)
{
    $output = array();
    foreach ($input as $key => $value)
    {
        $output[$key] = form_error($key);
    }
    return $output;
}

and then in your validation method, just call this, here is mine

public function add_cat_form()
    {
        $this->output->unset_template();
        $this->load->library('form_validation');
        $this->form_validation->set_rules('name', 'Name', 'required');
        if ($this->form_validation->run())
        {
            if (IS_AJAX)
            {
                $dataForInsert = $this->input->post();
                if ($dataForInsert['parentid'] == -1)
                {
                    unset($dataForInsert['parentid']);
                }
                $this->post_model->add_cat($dataForInsert);
                echo json_encode('success');
            } else
            {
                #in case of not using AJAX, the AJAX const defined
            }
        } else
        {
            if (IS_AJAX)
            {
                #This will be return form_validation error in an array
                $output = $this->return_form_validation_error($this->input->post());
                echo $output = json_encode($output);
            } else
            {
                #in case of not using AJAX, the AJAX const defined
            }
        }
    }

roborourke · Accepted Answer · 2009-01-23 11:09:08Z

0

Seeing as code igniter validation gives you the error messages on a normal page refresh wouldn't it be better to use something like the jquery validation plugin which will validate entirely client side before sending the form? No AJAX necessary that way.

EDIT: I'm not suggesting NOT DOING server side validation, just that posting with AJAX in order to validate isn't necessary and will reduce server hits if you do it client side. It will gracefully degrade to the regular page refresh with errors on or a success message.

edited Jan 23, 2009 at 11:09

answered Jan 22, 2009 at 11:22

roborourke

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3 Comments

Luca Matteis Over a year ago

Client side validation shouldn't be your only concern, backend validation is much more important.

roborourke Over a year ago

Right that would be stupid. I did not suggest NOT DOING server side validation - read my edit AND original post again.

MaxiWheat Over a year ago

Also, sometimes validation NEED to be done backend, for example to validate something against a database table (unicity in a table)

curiosity · Accepted Answer · 2018-11-24 04:29:23Z

0

there's already a correct answer but i think this one is more understandable on how to execute the process.

Do it in your Controller

$this->form_validation->set_rules('username', 'Username', 'required');
$this->form_validation->set_rules('password', 'Password', 'required');
if($this->form_validation->run() === FALSE){
    $data['error'] = validation_errors();
}else{
  //success
}
echo json_encode($data);

Do it in your JS

success:function(response){
 if(response.error){
  $('#notif').html(response.error); 
 }else{
   //do stuff here...
 }
}

and finally display the error corresponding to the given id in your js.

Do it in your HTML

<span id="notif"></span>

answered Nov 24, 2018 at 4:29

curiosity

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Comments

Valkay · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-10 07:53:25Z

This might be way belated but I want to share a solution that I used in hope that it will benefit someone else.

Unfortunately, CodeIgniter's $this->form_validation->error_array() method returns only the errors that emanate from the set_rules() method. It does not account for the name of the form field that generated the error. However, we can leverage another of CodeIgniter's method $this->form_validation->error(), which returns the error(s) associated with a particular form field, by passing the name of the field as parameter.

//form validation rules
$this->form_validation->set_rules('f_name', 'First Name', 'trim|required', 
    ['required' => 'First Name is required']
);
$this->form_validation->set_rules('l_name', 'Last Name', 'trim|required', 
    ['required' => 'Last Name is required']
);
$this->form_validation->set_rules('email', 'Email', 'trim|required|valid_email|is_unique[users.email]', 
    [
        'required'      => 'Email is required',
        'valid_email'   => 'Email format is invalid',
        'is_unique'     => 'Email already exists'
    ]
);
$error_arr = []; //array to hold the errors
//array of form field names
$field_names= ['f_name', 'l_name', 'email'];
//Iterate through the form fields to build a field=error associative pair.
foreach ($field_names as $field) {
    $error = $this->form_validation->error($field);
    //field has error?
    if (strlen($error)) $error_arr[$field] = $error;
}

//print_r($error_arr);

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