codebright

Validation 179
22
23 if ($validator->passes()) {
24 // Normally we would do something with the data.
25 return 'Data was saved.';
26 }
27
28 return Redirect::to('/');
29 });
To test the result of the validation we can use the passes() method on the validator instance. This
method will return a boolean response to show whether or not the validation has passed. A true
response indicates that the data conforms to all of the validation rules. A false indicates that the
data does not meet the validation requirements.
We use an if statement in the above example to decide whether to store the data or to redirect to
the entry form. Let’s test this by visiting the / URI.
First enter the value ‘johnzoidberg’ into the username field and hit the submit button. We know
that the username ‘johnzoidberg’ consists of alphanumeric characters, so the validation will pass.
We are presented with the following sentence.
1 Data was saved.
Great, that’s what we expected. Now let’s invert the result of the validation. Go ahead and visit
the / URI once again. This time, enter the value ‘!!!’. We know that an exclamation mark is not an
alphabetical or numerical character, so the validation should fail. Hit the submit button, and we
should be redirected back to the registration form.
I love that passes() method, it’s really useful. The only problem is that it’s a little optimistic. The
world isn’t a perfect place, let’s be honest with ourselves. We aren’t all Robert Downey Jr. Let’s
allow ourselves to be a little more pessimistic shall we? Excellent, wait… satisfactory. Let’s try the
fails() method instead.
1