Hi guys. I have a very interesting validation problem. Say I have a model defined called Event, and this model has a field :event_date (for illustration, we could assume it''s the only field aside from id) that is defined as a Date type. I want to allow this field to either be a valid date of a format of my choosing (\d{4}-\d{1,2}-\d{1,2}), or nil. In other to validate, I need to use validates_format_of or a custom validate method. validates_format_of. Since the field could already (and validly) be nil, I decide to implement a custom check: class Event < ActiveRecord::Base def validate if !event_date.nil? and event_date !~ /\d{4}-\d{1,2}-\d{1,2}/ errors.add("event_date", "is not formatted properly") end end So far so good, right? It appears that, if the user set event_date to something, the regex will be tested and an error will be thrown if event_date doesn''t match it. HOWEVER, before validate is called, the event_date value (after being set by the action from its parameters) appears to have already been cast to a Date, which causing a string that can''t be handled by Date to be set to nil. So, now our first test, event_date.nil? fails and the regex is never called...consequently, the user it not notified of the error. I have no way of getting at the parameter they passed here, so no way of knowing if they should indeed incur an error. So...I need a boost. Can anyone tell me how they might accomplish this, forcing a date to either be nil or formatted properly, while indicating errors in formatting to the user? Thanks a bunch! Jake --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
how about using before_type_cast? (untested): if !event_date.nil? and event_date_before_type_cast !~ /\d{4}-\d{1,2}-\d{1,2}/ ... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Jake Cutter wrote:> So...I need a boost. Can anyone tell me how they might accomplish this, > forcing a date to either be nil or formatted properly, while indicating > errors in formatting to the user?Try using validates_format_of with the :if param maybe? validates_format_of :event_date, :with => /^\d{4}-\d{1,2}-\d{1,2}$/, :if => lambda {|date| not date.nil?} --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On 10/10/06, jemminger <jemminger-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > > how about using before_type_cast? > > (untested): > if !event_date.nil? and event_date_before_type_cast !~ > /\d{4}-\d{1,2}-\d{1,2}/Aha! Nice...and here I was trying event_date.before_type_cast...not event_data_before_type_cast! Thanks! I think I can make this work! Jake --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On 10/10/06, Jake Cutter <cutter38-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> Thanks! I think I can make this work!It indeed works perfectly....thank you very much. I beat my head on this deceptively simple thing for HOURS!!! Best regards ;-) Jake --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
This still won''t save you from dates such as 2006-02-30, and the like. One common technique is to do something like: def validate d = Date.new(your_year_field, your_month_field, your_day_field) rescue WhateverDateThrowsWhenItsNotValid => e do_something_with_e.message end On 10/10/06, Jake Cutter <cutter38-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > > On 10/10/06, Jake Cutter <cutter38-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote: > > Thanks! I think I can make this work! > > It indeed works perfectly....thank you very much. I beat my head on this > deceptively simple thing for HOURS!!! > > Best regards ;-) > > Jake > > > > > >-- If I can''t think of at least three different interpretations of what I received, I haven''t thought enough about what it might mean. -- Jerry Weinberg --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---