displaying user validation errors

[pimptovimto]

I am very new to this so firgive me if this is just garbage and feel free to say so 🙂

I have a registration form which takes the following
email address, password and address details.

I have a fuction which validates user input, this is provided by Ashley Sheridan, thank you very much.

The form page posts to itself and as long as the user is not already in the database redirects them to a members page, currently if they are in the database if redirects them back to the registration page and clears the form.

I would like the following to happen, if the user is in the database or the users input is not valid as per the validation code provided that it diaplays the reason for the return to the registartion page in a hidden input box at the top of the registration form and the original values entered appear back in the form.

In my head I see this working like this

page loads, sets variables for each input box to "" checks to see if the count of the errors array is greater thans 0, if it is it sets a variable $isvisible = "show" this variable is then used in the form section to either show or hide the error input box. It also sets the variables for each input box to be the session variables gathered in the original form post.

if the error count is 0 then it sets the $isvisible = "hidden" and continues to load the page as normal. The function to capture the form post retrieves the the $POST in to the session variables.

does anyone do anything similar or is this just not the way to do it?

Thanks

Pimpto

[djjjozsi]

i have easier version to check a posted value, its just an example, maybe has syntax errors, but you could think that more:

here is a schematic example, with ideas:

<?
create_field($value,$form_type)
{
if($form_type=="checkbox")
print "checkbox with a field name:".$value." and using a value, stored in session:".$_SESSION["$value"];

if($form_type=="textfield")
{
if(strstr($value,"pass"))
print "a textfield as a password, with a field name:".$value ;
else
print "a textfield as a textfield, with a field name:".$value." and using a value, stored in session";
}

if($form_type=="list")
print "make a dropdown list, from a table name called $value(from database), and using a value, stored in session:".$_SESSION["$value"];
}

check_field($value,$field_check_types)
{
//it creates check, string checks...

if(strstr($field_check_types,"required"))
{
if(emty($_POST["$value"]))
$errors[]="$value field must have been filled";
}

if(strstr($field_check_types,"letters_only"))
{
if(isset($POST["$value")) {
if( !ereg(^[A-Za-z]*$" , $POST["$value"]))
$errors[]="$value field must contains letters only";
}
}

if(strstr($field_check_types,"number"))
{
if(gettype($_POST["$value"])!="integer"))
$errors[]="$value field must been an integer";
}
// you could do here several syntax check..

return($errors);
}
?>

if($_POST)
{
$errors.=check_field("username","letters_only");
$errors.=check_field("password","letters_only");
...........

if($errors=="")
{
//lets insert the data into database...
$result=insert_db("username","password","email");

}
}

and you make fields like this:

print "<form...............>";
create_field("username","textfield");
create_field("password","textfield");
create_field("email","textfield");

print "</form...............>";

[pimptovimto]

a lot of your post is beyond me, I dont have enough knowledge to fill in the missing bits.