Form handling

Anon

Hey guys,

What is the best way of validating/handling forms? I always think of just doing an isset($variable) or if (strlen($variable)<2) or something. What do you guys think is the best way to check for integers, floats,
characters, and strings?

Thanks,

John

Anon

Client side javascripting is perfect for this. Basically, if you use javascript to handle your form validation (using ie. event handlers) it cuts down your screen refresh. You can also use perl style regular expression for more granular validation.

Anon

If you want to be aboslutely sure that people are submitting proper data, you would still want to perform your validation on the server. There are plenty of idiots out there who have javascript turned off.

Anon

Right, I know this... so, how are the best ways to do it?

I figure if the form is method POST, I do the following:

for strings:
// for good measure, do the isset
if (!isset($var) || strlen($var)<3) {
// some arbitrary size
// error
}

for integers:
if (!isset(var) || )/// what here?
// there is no isdigit

for floats -- same problem.

Do you guys know how I can verify integers or floats, then?

Thanks,

John

Anon

Ah, but there is:

http://www.php.net/manual/ref.var.php

There is:

is_bool()
is_double()
is_float()
is_int() [is_integer()]
is_long()
is_numeric
...

Brett