must have no spaces or special characters before submitting form

[zrocker]

I have a code written where they cant leave a field blank before submitting but if they place a space or spaces, it will submit blank. I would like to have them only use A thru Z and if spaces applied only if letters are in the form space. Does someone have a code that I can apply to my empty field check?

[nrg_alpha]

If I understand correctly, would the following example be along the lines of what you are looking for?

$str = '	THIS IS A TEST ';

if(preg_match('#^[A-Z\s]+$#', $str)){
	if(trim($str) != empty($str)){
		// correct format. Do something...
		echo $str . ' - Good format!';
	} else {
		// bad format. Do something else...
		echo $str . ' - Bad format!';
	}
} else {
	echo $str . ' - Bad format!';
}

[zrocker]

This example is what i would need... but let me show ya how i did the empty varable test before submitting info.

$str = ' THIS IS A TEST'; 

if(preg_match('#^[A-Z\s]+$#', $str)){ 
    if(trim($str) != empty($str)){ 
        // correct format. Do something... 
        echo $str . ' - Good format!'; 
    } else { 
        // bad format. Do something else... 
        echo $str . ' - Bad format!'; 
    } 
} else { 
    echo $str . ' - Bad format!'; 
} 

Ok here is what I did as an example...

if(empty($_POST['name']) or empty($_POST['location'])) {
			echo "";
			}else{
                                                Access db and insert info...
}

My question is there a way i can group many different form varables to check there was letters without special characters and no spaces other than when characters were presented in the field. Another words...

The field can have A thru Z but no other characters such as $&% but at the same time cant just apply the space bar to a field and that classifies as a character. (which is what you showed me and i thank you) but i need to have it check through many fields not just 1 and have it insert into a DB.

[laserlight]

zrocker wrote:

My question is there a way i can group many different form varables to check there was letters without special characters and no spaces other than when characters were presented in the field.

You could write a function so you can call the function with the various incoming variables that you wish to validate.

By the way, the logic can be simplified if you do not wish to distinguish between disallowed characters and only whitespace:

$str = trim($str);
if (preg_match('#^[A-Z\s]+$#', $str)) {
    // correct format. Do something...
    echo $str . ' - Good format!';
} else {
    echo $str . ' - Bad format!';
}

[nrg_alpha]

laserlight;10915780 wrote:

By the way, the logic can be simplified if you do not wish to distinguish between disallowed characters and only whitespace:

$str = trim($str);
if (preg_match('#^[A-Z\s]+$#', $str)) {
    // correct format. Do something...
    echo $str . ' - Good format!';
} else {
    echo $str . ' - Bad format!';
}

Yeah, my suggestion was a bit of an odd ball, wasn't it?

[zrocker]

Would i have to post that code per every single form field? or is there a way to group them with the or statement.... like ... If name or location or phone or height are empty or wrong characters, skip inserting of data, else insert data into database.

I am writing out what i want to have done... is this possible?

[bradgrafelman]

You could wrap the above test into a function and have it return true or false, that way you could do something like:

if(isblank($name) || isblank($location) || ...) {
    // something was blank
}

[zrocker]

bradgrafelman;10915804 wrote:

You could wrap the above test into a function and have it return true or false, that way you could do something like:

if(isblank($name) || isblank($location) || ...) {
    // something was blank
}

Would isblank catch people just placing a space in the field as still blank? and what about characters such as $ % & etc.

Im sorry if for whatever reason i am not being specific enough... but thank you all for the Ideas yall are giving me...

[nrg_alpha]

I think Brad means you write a custom function named isblank, which in turn checks the parameter passed into it to see if its valid or not. I suppose Laserlight's refined example could be the contents of such a function...

function isblank($txt){
	$txt = trim($txt); // trim initial and trailing spaces first
	if (preg_match('#^[A-Z\s]+$#', $txt)) { 
		return true; // Only capital letters with / without spaces found.. all's good
	} else { 
		return false; // Incorrect format, as the requirement for capital letters with / without spaces fails...
	} 	
}

if(!isblank($name) || !isblank($location) || ...) { 
    // something was blank 
} 

[bradgrafelman]

nrg_alpha's assumption was correct (although semantically I meant the opposite; otherwise, the function's name is somewhat counter-intuitive :p) in that I was suggesting you take the above suggestions and make them into your own function (since I don't think any of the built-in functions ctype or otherwise will exactly suit your needs).

[nrg_alpha]

bradgrafelman;10915828 wrote:

nrg_alpha's assumption was correct (although semantically I meant the opposite; otherwise, the function's name is somewhat counter-intuitive :p)

Oops.. my bad... Indeed I got things reversed given the function name lol. So yeah, I should have reversed the true and false return statements and made !isblank simple isblank. (not my day today I tell you).

[zrocker]

So the correct coding should be as follows...

function isblank($txt){
    $txt = trim($txt); // trim initial and trailing spaces first
    if (preg_match('#^[A-Z\s]+$#', $txt)) { 
        return false; // Incorrect format, as the requirement for capital letters with / without spaces fails...
    } else { 
        return true; // Only capital letters with / without spaces found.. all's good
            }     

}

if(isblank($name) || isblank($location) || ...) { 
    // something was blank 
} 

if so that is great... I see how the isblank fuction is working with checking multiple field varables but does the first section which checks the letters also check multiple fields not just $txt.... Sorry if i am reading this wrong... but thank you for helping me understand more clearly.

[nrg_alpha]

zrocker;10915842 wrote:

So the correct coding should be as follows...

I see how the isblank fuction is working with checking multiple field varables but does the first section which checks the letters also check multiple fields not just $txt.... Sorry if i am reading this wrong... but thank you for helping me understand more clearly.

Each field name is passed into the function one at a time and checked.. the result (either true or false) is returned.. if any one of those function calls is true, this means one of them is blank.

As for $txt, this is simply a local copy (inside the function) representing the actual variable being passed into it.. so when $name is passed into the function, $txt 'represents' $name within the function (this is not an accurate/technical description per say, but rather just to help understand $txt in this case in layman terms).

Give the code a try.

[zrocker]

I altered the code so it wont insert data into a database but this is just a for a simple chatroom... showing the user name as name (location)... I had it originally set up to not allow blank fields, as previously described... Now i set it up to shoot off to another location via header command.

I will try my code later on today but does this seem ok? with it looping through the varables name and location will the header (if true) not work properly where its at?

I will test code later on and thank you so much for putting it in laymen terms...

 if ("usersubmit" == $HTTP_POST_VARS["go"]) {


$name = $HTTP_POST_VARS["name"];
$location = $HTTP_POST_VARS["location"];

function isblank($txt){ 
$txt = trim($txt); // trim initial and trailing spaces first 
     if (preg_match('#^[A-Z\s]+$#', $txt)) { 
        echo ""; // Incorrect format, as the requirement for capital letters with / without spaces fails... 
    } else { 
        header("Location: http://manage.voxwire.com/join.php?id=50029235df3a569815a2f9d67a49e852&afid=0&pw=drepusla&email=$name($location)"); // Only capital letters with / without spaces found.. all's good 
            }      

} 

if(isblank($name) || isblank($location)) { 
    echo"";// something was blank 
}

}

[nrg_alpha]

$HTTP_POST_VARS is now depreciated. You should use $_POST['...'] instead.

As for the isblank function, the whole point was to return either true or false, and depending on the outcome of the if statement as a result of those returns, you either did one thing or the other.. but instead of returning one of those values, you now echo out "" if the preg statement is true? And you jump to another location if it's false? I'm not sure I follow any of that (logically speaking).

I would do all the actions (be it echo "" or jumping to another location - or what have you) in the if statement instead.

A word of advice with regards to always asking if something will work or not. A good trait of a programmer is someone who takes self initiatives in testing things out (and if it doesn't work, troubleshoot things like say examining variable contents to see what they contain, and checking to see if the current problem solving logic is correct of not in the code structure / setup). Getting into the habit of experimenting and troubleshooting is important in becoming more self sufficient.

It all goes back to that saying 'Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day.. teach a man to fish, and he can eat for a lifetime'... You must teach yourself to fish so-to-speak. Search issues online (including the php manual), or see if there is a good php book at your local bookstore that can really shed light on things.

Nothing wrong with approaching forums when your stuck mind you...That's what they're there for.. but there is a difference between being stuck after trying and trouble shooting stuff, and being spoon fed. My apologies in advance if I'm sounding harsh. The intention is not to knock you down nor discourage you (just the opposite in fact).

I know all this advice is not the easy way.. but trust me when I say it is the best way. 🙂 I've been through my own coding trials and tribulations (with more to come I'm sure - I too have a long way to go). The key is learning how to self advance (and with the help of others when what you have tried / experimented / reworked things that still fail).