have this validation code but it is not working, what am i missing?

buzzby

$required_fields    = array('name','email','contactaddress','mobile','workhometel','contactpostcode','projectpostcode','designstyle','programtimecompletion','budgetcost','feeconstraint','projectdeadline','whybuild'); 

for($i=0;$i<count($required_fields);$i++) { 
    if(!isset($_POST[$required_fields[$i]]) || $_POST[$required_fields[$i]]=='') { 
        $err[]='You must provide a '.$_POST[$required_fields[$i]]; 
    } 
}
if(count($err)>0) { 
    //there were errors, re-display the form with bad values highlighted or something like that 
$err[]='The email field does not appear to be in the correct format';

tsinka

Hi,

what exactly is the problem ?It might help if you post some more code including the form and the complete validation code (maybe as attached zip if it is too much for a post).

Thomas

buzzby

ok. here goes. i have these files that dont work properly. the validation brings up the errors but then blanks out the whole form so they user has to begin again which is not what i want at all. this is the closest to good validation i have. please can you look at it for me and either correct it or let me know what the problem is. download it

tsinka

Hi,

first of all I'd change the include that prints the form. First of all remove the <html>..<body> and </body></html> part since you already have it in the other script.

I think it isn't neccessary to use a function in the form script. Change it so that it just prints the form and at the end of the validation script check if the count of the error array is greater than 0 and then just include the form script.

This makes it a little bit easier to set the values of the form elements.

Simple example (for a input with a name of e.g. 'firstname'):

<?PHP
$strFirstame = isset($_POST['firstname']) ? $_POST['firstname'] : "";
?>
<form name='firstname' type='text' value='<?=$strFirstname ?>'>

Setting the selected property of a select input is similar. Just add a selected to the option that matches the value submitted for that select.

To improve the validation create functions that also check if e.g. the values expected to be numeric are really numeric.

By the way ... I think there should be several examples of form validation scripts in the various PHP libraries like the one of phpbuilder.

Thomas