Class Validation

Validation Class. Used for validation of model data

Offers different validation methods.

Package: Cake\Utility
Copyright: Copyright (c) Cake Software Foundation, Inc. (https://cakefoundation.org)
License: MIT License
Location: Cake/Utility/Validation.php

Properties summary

  • $_pattern protected static
    array
    Some complex patterns needed in multiple places
  • $errors public static
    array

    Holds an array of errors messages set in this class. These are used for debugging purposes

Method Summary

  • _check() protected static
    Runs a regular expression match.
  • _isUploadedFile() protected static
    Helper method that can be stubbed in testing.
  • _pass() protected static

    Attempts to pass unhandled Validation locales to a class starting with $classPrefix and ending with Validation. For example $classPrefix = 'nl', the class would be NlValidation.

  • _populateIp() protected static
    Lazily populate the IP address patterns used for validations
  • _reset() protected static
    Reset internal variables for another validation run.
  • alphaNumeric() public static
    Checks that a string contains only integer or letters
  • between() public static
    Alias of Validator::lengthBetween() for backwards compatibility.
  • blank() public static

    Returns true if field is left blank -OR- only whitespace characters are present in its value Whitespace characters include Space, Tab, Carriage Return, Newline

  • boolean() public static
    Boolean validation, determines if value passed is a boolean integer or true/false.
  • cc() public static

    Validation of credit card numbers. Returns true if $check is in the proper credit card format.

  • comparison() public static
    Used to compare 2 numeric values.
  • custom() public static
    Used when a custom regular expression is needed.
  • date() public static

    Date validation, determines if the string passed is a valid date. keys that expect full month, day and year will validate leap years.

  • datetime() public static
    Validates a datetime value
  • decimal() public static
    Checks that a value is a valid decimal. Both the sign and exponent are optional.
  • email() public static
    Validates for an email address.
  • equalTo() public static
    Check that value is exactly $comparedTo.
  • extension() public static
    Check that value has a valid file extension.
  • fileSize() public static
    Checks the filesize
  • inList() public static
    Checks if a value is in a given list. Comparison is case sensitive by default.
  • ip() public static
    Validation of an IP address.
  • lengthBetween() public static

    Checks that a string length is within s specified range. Spaces are included in the character count. Returns true is string matches value min, max, or between min and max,

  • luhn() public static
    Luhn algorithm
  • maxLength() public static
    Checks whether the length of a string (in characters) is smaller or equal to a maximal length..
  • maxLengthBytes() public static
    Checks whether the length of a string (in bytes) is smaller or equal to a maximal length..
  • mimeType() public static
    Checks the mime type of a file.
  • minLength() public static
    Checks whether the length of a string (in characters) is greater or equal to a minimal length.
  • minLengthBytes() public static
    Checks whether the length of a string (in bytes) is greater or equal to a minimal length.
  • money() public static
    Checks that a value is a monetary amount.
  • multiple() public static
    Validate a multiple select. Comparison is case sensitive by default.
  • naturalNumber() public static
    Checks if a value is a natural number.
  • notBlank() public static
    Checks that a string contains something other than whitespace
  • notEmpty() public static
    Backwards compatibility wrapper for Validation::notBlank().
  • numeric() public static
    Checks if a value is numeric.
  • phone() public static
    Check that a value is a valid phone number.
  • postal() public static
    Checks that a given value is a valid postal code.
  • range() public static

    Validate that a number is in specified range. if $lower and $upper are not set, will return true if $check is a legal finite on this platform

  • ssn() public static
    Checks that a value is a valid Social Security Number.
  • time() public static

    Time validation, determines if the string passed is a valid time. Validates time as 24hr (HH:MM) or am/pm ([H]H:MM[a|p]m) Does not allow/validate seconds.

  • uploadError() public static
    Checking for upload errors
  • uploadedFile() public static
    Validate an uploaded file.
  • url() public static
    Checks that a value is a valid URL according to http://www.w3.org/Addressing/URL/url-spec.txt
  • userDefined() public static
    Runs an user-defined validation.
  • uuid() public static
    Checks that a value is a valid UUID - http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4122

Method Detail

_check()source protected static 

_check( string $check , string $regex )

Runs a regular expression match.

Parameters

string $check
Value to check against the $regex expression
string $regex
Regular expression

Returns

boolean
Success of match

_isUploadedFile()source protected static 

_isUploadedFile( string $path )

Helper method that can be stubbed in testing.

Parameters

string $path
The path to check.

Returns

boolean
Whether or not the file is an uploaded file.

_pass()source protected static 

_pass( string $method , mixed $check , string $classPrefix )

Attempts to pass unhandled Validation locales to a class starting with $classPrefix and ending with Validation. For example $classPrefix = 'nl', the class would be NlValidation.

Parameters

string $method
The method to call on the other class.
mixed $check
The value to check or an array of parameters for the method to be called.
string $classPrefix
The prefix for the class to do the validation.

Returns

mixed
Return of Passed method, false on failure

_populateIp()source protected static 

_populateIp( )

Lazily populate the IP address patterns used for validations

_reset()source protected static 

_reset( )

Reset internal variables for another validation run.

alphaNumeric()source public static 

alphaNumeric( string|array $check )

Checks that a string contains only integer or letters

Returns true if string contains only integer or letters

$check can be passed as an array: array('check' => 'valueToCheck');

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check

Returns

boolean
Success

between()source public static 

between( string $check , integer $min , integer $max )

Alias of Validator::lengthBetween() for backwards compatibility.

Deprecated

Deprecated 2.6. Use Validator::lengthBetween() instead.

Parameters

string $check
Value to check for length
integer $min
Minimum value in range (inclusive)
integer $max
Maximum value in range (inclusive)

Returns

boolean
Success

See

Validator::lengthBetween()

blank()source public static 

blank( string|array $check )

Returns true if field is left blank -OR- only whitespace characters are present in its value Whitespace characters include Space, Tab, Carriage Return, Newline

$check can be passed as an array: array('check' => 'valueToCheck');

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check

Returns

boolean
Success

boolean()source public static 

boolean( string $check )

Boolean validation, determines if value passed is a boolean integer or true/false.

Parameters

string $check
a valid boolean

Returns

boolean
Success

cc()source public static 

cc( string|array $check , string|array $type 'fast' , boolean $deep false , string $regex null )

Validation of credit card numbers. Returns true if $check is in the proper credit card format.

Parameters

string|array $check
credit card number to validate
string|array $type optional 'fast'

'all' may be passed as a sting, defaults to fast which checks format of most major credit cards if an array is used only the values of the array are checked. Example: array('amex', 'bankcard', 'maestro')

boolean $deep optional false
set to true this will check the Luhn algorithm of the credit card.
string $regex optional null
A custom regex can also be passed, this will be used instead of the defined regex values

Returns

boolean
Success

See

Validation::luhn()

comparison()source public static 

comparison( string|array $check1 , string $operator null , integer $check2 null )

Used to compare 2 numeric values.

Parameters

string|array $check1

if string is passed for a string must also be passed for $check2 used as an array it must be passed as array('check1' => value, 'operator' => 'value', 'check2' -> value)

string $operator optional null

Can be either a word or operand is greater >, is less <, greater or equal >= less or equal <=, is less <, equal to ==, not equal !=

integer $check2 optional null
only needed if $check1 is a string

Returns

boolean
Success

custom()source public static 

custom( string|array $check , string $regex null )

Used when a custom regular expression is needed.

Parameters

string|array $check

When used as a string, $regex must also be a valid regular expression. As and array: array('check' => value, 'regex' => 'valid regular expression')

string $regex optional null
If $check is passed as a string, $regex must also be set to valid regular expression

Returns

boolean
Success

date()source public static 

date( string $check , string|array $format 'ymd' , string $regex null )

Date validation, determines if the string passed is a valid date. keys that expect full month, day and year will validate leap years.

Years are valid from 1800 to 2999.

Formats:

  • dmy 27-12-2006 or 27-12-06 separators can be a space, period, dash, forward slash
  • mdy 12-27-2006 or 12-27-06 separators can be a space, period, dash, forward slash
  • ymd 2006-12-27 or 06-12-27 separators can be a space, period, dash, forward slash
  • dMy 27 December 2006 or 27 Dec 2006
  • Mdy December 27, 2006 or Dec 27, 2006 comma is optional
  • My December 2006 or Dec 2006
  • my 12/2006 or 12/06 separators can be a space, period, dash, forward slash
  • ym 2006/12 or 06/12 separators can be a space, period, dash, forward slash
  • y 2006 just the year without any separators

Parameters

string $check
a valid date string
string|array $format optional 'ymd'

Use a string or an array of the keys above. Arrays should be passed as array('dmy', 'mdy', etc)

string $regex optional null
If a custom regular expression is used this is the only validation that will occur.

Returns

boolean
Success

datetime()source public static 

datetime( string $check , string|array $dateFormat 'ymd' , string $regex null )

Validates a datetime value

All values matching the "date" core validation rule, and the "time" one will be valid

Parameters

string $check
Value to check
string|array $dateFormat optional 'ymd'
Format of the date part. See Validation::date for more information.
string $regex optional null
Regex for the date part. If a custom regular expression is used this is the only validation that will occur.

Returns

boolean
True if the value is valid, false otherwise

See

Validation::date
Validation::time

decimal()source public static 

decimal( float $check , integer $places null , string $regex null )

Checks that a value is a valid decimal. Both the sign and exponent are optional.

Valid Places:

  • null => Any number of decimal places, including none. The '.' is not required.
  • true => Any number of decimal places greater than 0, or a float|double. The '.' is required.
  • 1..N => Exactly that many number of decimal places. The '.' is required.

Parameters

float $check
The value the test for decimal.
integer $places optional null
Decimal places.
string $regex optional null
If a custom regular expression is used, this is the only validation that will occur.

Returns

boolean
Success

email()source public static 

email( string $check , boolean $deep false , string $regex null )

Validates for an email address.

Only uses getmxrr() checking for deep validation if PHP 5.3.0+ is used, or any PHP version on a non-Windows distribution

Parameters

string $check
Value to check
boolean $deep optional false
Perform a deeper validation (if true), by also checking availability of host
string $regex optional null
Regex to use (if none it will use built in regex)

Returns

boolean
Success

equalTo()source public static 

equalTo( mixed $check , mixed $comparedTo )

Check that value is exactly $comparedTo.

Parameters

mixed $check
Value to check
mixed $comparedTo
Value to compare

Returns

boolean
Success

extension()source public static 

extension( string|array $check , array $extensions array('gif', 'jpeg', 'png', 'jpg') )

Check that value has a valid file extension.

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check
array $extensions optional array('gif', 'jpeg', 'png', 'jpg')
file extensions to allow. By default extensions are 'gif', 'jpeg', 'png', 'jpg'

Returns

boolean
Success

fileSize()source public static 

fileSize( string|array $check , string $operator null , integer|string $size null )

Checks the filesize

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check.
string $operator optional null
See Validation::comparison().
integer|string $size optional null
Size in bytes or human readable string like '5MB'.

Returns

boolean
Success

inList()source public static 

inList( string $check , array $list , boolean $caseInsensitive false )

Checks if a value is in a given list. Comparison is case sensitive by default.

Parameters

string $check
Value to check.
array $list
List to check against.
boolean $caseInsensitive optional false
Set to true for case insensitive comparison.

Returns

boolean
Success.

ip()source public static 

ip( string $check , string $type 'both' )

Validation of an IP address.

Parameters

string $check
The string to test.
string $type optional 'both'
The IP Protocol version to validate against

Returns

boolean
Success

lengthBetween()source public static 

lengthBetween( string $check , integer $min , integer $max )

Checks that a string length is within s specified range. Spaces are included in the character count. Returns true is string matches value min, max, or between min and max,

Parameters

string $check
Value to check for length
integer $min
Minimum value in range (inclusive)
integer $max
Maximum value in range (inclusive)

Returns

boolean
Success

luhn()source public static 

luhn( string|array $check , boolean $deep false )

Luhn algorithm

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check.
boolean $deep optional false
If true performs deep check.

Returns

boolean
Success

See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luhn_algorithm

maxLength()source public static 

maxLength( string $check , integer $max )

Checks whether the length of a string (in characters) is smaller or equal to a maximal length..

Parameters

string $check
The string to test
integer $max
The maximal string length

Returns

boolean
Success

maxLengthBytes()source public static 

maxLengthBytes( string $check , integer $max )

Checks whether the length of a string (in bytes) is smaller or equal to a maximal length..

Parameters

string $check
The string to test
integer $max
The maximal string length

Returns

boolean
Success

mimeType()source public static 

mimeType( string|array $check , array|string $mimeTypes array() )

Checks the mime type of a file.

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check.
array|string $mimeTypes optional array()
Array of mime types or regex pattern to check.

Returns

boolean
Success

Throws

CakeException
when mime type can not be determined.

minLength()source public static 

minLength( string $check , integer $min )

Checks whether the length of a string (in characters) is greater or equal to a minimal length.

Parameters

string $check
The string to test
integer $min
The minimal string length

Returns

boolean
Success

minLengthBytes()source public static 

minLengthBytes( string $check , integer $min )

Checks whether the length of a string (in bytes) is greater or equal to a minimal length.

Parameters

string $check
The string to test
integer $min
The minimal string length

Returns

boolean
Success

money()source public static 

money( string $check , string $symbolPosition 'left' )

Checks that a value is a monetary amount.

Parameters

string $check
Value to check
string $symbolPosition optional 'left'
Where symbol is located (left/right)

Returns

boolean
Success

multiple()source public static 

multiple( array $check , array $options array() , boolean $caseInsensitive false )

Validate a multiple select. Comparison is case sensitive by default.

Valid Options

  • in => provide a list of choices that selections must be made from
  • max => maximum number of non-zero choices that can be made
  • min => minimum number of non-zero choices that can be made

Parameters

array $check
Value to check
array $options optional array()
Options for the check.
boolean $caseInsensitive optional false
Set to true for case insensitive comparison.

Returns

boolean
Success

naturalNumber()source public static 

naturalNumber( string $check , boolean $allowZero false )

Checks if a value is a natural number.

Parameters

string $check
Value to check
boolean $allowZero optional false
Set true to allow zero, defaults to false

Returns

boolean
Success

See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_number

notBlank()source public static 

notBlank( string $check )

Checks that a string contains something other than whitespace

Returns true if string contains something other than whitespace

Parameters

string $check
Value to check

Returns

boolean
Success

notEmpty()source public static 

notEmpty( string|array $check )

Backwards compatibility wrapper for Validation::notBlank().

Deprecated

2.7.0 Use Validation::notBlank() instead.

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check.

Returns

boolean
Success.

See

Validation::notBlank()

numeric()source public static 

numeric( string $check )

Checks if a value is numeric.

Parameters

string $check
Value to check

Returns

boolean
Success

phone()source public static 

phone( string|array $check , string $regex null , string $country 'all' )

Check that a value is a valid phone number.

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check (string or array)
string $regex optional null
Regular expression to use
string $country optional 'all'
Country code (defaults to 'all')

Returns

boolean
Success

postal()source public static 

postal( string|array $check , string $regex null , string $country 'us' )

Checks that a given value is a valid postal code.

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check
string $regex optional null
Regular expression to use
string $country optional 'us'
Country to use for formatting

Returns

boolean
Success

range()source public static 

range( string $check , integer|float $lower null , integer|float $upper null )

Validate that a number is in specified range. if $lower and $upper are not set, will return true if $check is a legal finite on this platform

Parameters

string $check
Value to check
integer|float $lower optional null
Lower limit
integer|float $upper optional null
Upper limit

Returns

boolean
Success

ssn()source public static 

ssn( string|array $check , string $regex null , string $country null )

Checks that a value is a valid Social Security Number.

Deprecated

Deprecated 2.6. Will be removed in 3.0.

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check
string $regex optional null
Regular expression to use
string $country optional null
Country

Returns

boolean
Success

time()source public static 

time( string $check )

Time validation, determines if the string passed is a valid time. Validates time as 24hr (HH:MM) or am/pm ([H]H:MM[a|p]m) Does not allow/validate seconds.

Parameters

string $check
a valid time string

Returns

boolean
Success

uploadError()source public static 

uploadError( string|array $check , boolean $allowNoFile false )

Checking for upload errors

Parameters

string|array $check
Value to check.
boolean $allowNoFile optional false
Set to true to allow UPLOAD_ERR_NO_FILE as a pass.

Returns

boolean

See

http://www.php.net/manual/en/features.file-upload.errors.php

uploadedFile()source public static 

uploadedFile( array $file , array $options array() )

Validate an uploaded file.

Helps join uploadError, fileSize and mimeType into one higher level validation method.

Options

  • types - A list of valid mime types. If empty all types will be accepted. The type will not be looked at, instead the file type will be checked with ext/finfo.
  • minSize - The minimum file size. Defaults to not checking.
  • maxSize - The maximum file size. Defaults to not checking.
  • optional - Whether or not this file is optional. Defaults to false. If true a missing file will pass the validator regardless of other constraints.

Parameters

array $file
The uploaded file data from PHP.
array $options optional array()
An array of options for the validation.

Returns

boolean

url()source public static 

url( string $check , boolean $strict false )

Checks that a value is a valid URL according to http://www.w3.org/Addressing/URL/url-spec.txt

The regex checks for the following component parts:

  • a valid, optional, scheme
  • a valid ip address OR a valid domain name as defined by section 2.3.1 of http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1035.txt with an optional port number
  • an optional valid path
  • an optional query string (get parameters)
  • an optional fragment (anchor tag)

Parameters

string $check
Value to check
boolean $strict optional false
Require URL to be prefixed by a valid scheme (one of http(s)/ftp(s)/file/news/gopher)

Returns

boolean
Success

userDefined()source public static 

userDefined( string|array $check , object $object , string $method , array $args null )

Runs an user-defined validation.

Parameters

string|array $check
value that will be validated in user-defined methods.
object $object
class that holds validation method
string $method
class method name for validation to run
array $args optional null
arguments to send to method

Returns

mixed
user-defined class class method returns

uuid()source public static 

uuid( string $check )

Checks that a value is a valid UUID - http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4122

Parameters

string $check
Value to check

Returns

boolean
Success

Properties detail

$_patternsource

protected static array

Some complex patterns needed in multiple places

array(
    'hostname' => '(?:[_\p{L}0-9][-_\p{L}0-9]*\.)*(?:[\p{L}0-9][-\p{L}0-9]{0,62})\.(?:(?:[a-z]{2}\.)?[a-z]{2,})'
)

$errorssource

public static array

Holds an array of errors messages set in this class. These are used for debugging purposes

array()

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https://api.cakephp.org/2.10/class-Validation.html