Laravel html form not validating form input - php

Question

I am trying to set up a contact form on a one page site using laravel, I can't seem to be able to get the form to validate the user input and show any errors that the form might have.
email.blade.php:
<ul>
#foreach($errors->all() as $error)
<li>{{ $error }}</li>
#endforeach
</ul>
{!! Form::open(['route' => 'mail', 'method' => 'post', 'role' => 'form', 'id' => 'footer-form']) !!}
<div class="form-group has-feedback">
{!! Form::label('first_name', null, ['class' => 'sr-only']) !!}
{!! Form::text('first_name', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'placeholder' => 'First Name']) !!}
<i class="fa fa-user form-control-feedback"></i>
#if($errors->has('first_name'))
{{ $errors->first('first_name') }}
#endif
</div>
<div class="form-group has-feedback">
{!! Form::label('last_name', null, ['class' => 'sr-only']) !!}
{!! Form::text('last_name', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'placeholder' => 'Last Name']) !!}
<i class="fa fa-user form-control-feedback"></i>
#if($errors->has('last_name'))
{{ $errors->first('last_name') }}
#endif
</div>
<div class="form-group has-feedback">
{!! Form::label('email', null, ['class' => 'sr-only']) !!}
{!! Form::email('email', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'placeholder' => 'Email address']) !!}
<i class="fa fa-envelope form-control-feedback"></i>
#if($errors->has('email'))
{{ $errors->first('email') }}
#endif
</div>
<div class="form-group has-feedback">
{!! Form::label('textarea', null, ['class' => 'sr-only']) !!}
{!! Form::textarea('textarea', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'rows' => 8, 'placeholder' => 'Message']) !!}
<i class="fa fa-pencil form-control-feedback"></i>
#if($errors->has('textarea'))
{{ $errors->first('textarea') }}
#endif
</div>
{!! Form::submit('Send', ['class' => 'btn btn-default']) !!}
{!! Form::close() !!}
Route: web.php:
Route::get('/ensignhospital', [
'as' => 'home',
'uses' => 'HomeController#home'
]);
Route::group(['before' => 'guest'], function () {
/*
* CSRF Protection
*
* */
Route::group(['before' => 'csrf'], function () {
Route::post('/ensignhospital', [
'as' => 'mail',
'uses' => 'HomeController#postSendMail'
]);
});
});
controller to handle for request:
class HomeController extends Controller {
public function home(){
return View('welcome');
}
public function postSendMail(ContactFormRequest $request){
if($request->fails()){
return Redirect::route('')
->withErrors()
->withInput();
}else{
return View('passed');
}
}
}
The form request validator class:
class ContactFormRequest extends FormRequest
{
/**
* Determine if the user is authorized to make this request.
*
* #return bool
*/
public function authorize()
{
return true;
}
/**
* Get the validation rules that apply to the request.
*
* #return array
*/
public function rules()
{
return [
//
'first_name' => 'required',
'last_name' => 'required',
'email' => 'required|email',
'message' => 'required'
];
}
}
Problem the form does not validate when I don't enter a valid input. I need the form to validate user input and remain at the form position on the web page.
please note:
I used a .htaccess file to get the site which is on my computer to display the site root as localhost/mylaravelproject rather than the usual localhost/mylaravelprojec/public that one will normally see on a fresh install of laravel.

Answer 1

From the documentation here: https://laravel.com/docs/5.3/validation#form-request-validation
So, how are the validation rules evaluated? All you need to do is type-hint
the request on your controller method. The incoming form request is validated
before the controller method is called, meaning you do not need to clutter
your controller with any validation logic.
Laravel will never actually remain on the form. It will instead redirect, validate and then redirect back, with the errors. You do not need the check in your code if($request->fails()).