Problems extending CI library Form_validation - php

Question

I have tried to extend the Form_validation library from Codeigniter with no success.
I have two functions that I'd like in this extended class but when the validation is run i get these messages in the log:
DEBUG - 06-07-2016 11:20:33 --> Unable to find validation rule: checkAccountnameForUpdate
DEBUG - 06-07-2016 11:20:33 --> Unable to find validation rule: checkEmailForUpdate
Here is my extended class which is placed in
application/libraries
<?php defined('BASEPATH') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');
class MY_Form_validation extends CI_Form_validation
{
public function __construct($rules = array())
{
// Pass the $rules to the parent constructor.
parent::__construct($rules);
// $this->CI is assigned in the parent constructor, no need to do it here.
}
public function checkAccountnameForUpdate($accountname, $id)
{
return 1;
}
public function checkEmailForUpdate($email, $id)
{
return 1;
}
}
And here's my rules:
$this->form_validation->set_rules('editAccountname', 'Brugernavn', 'required|checkAccountnameForUpdate[hiddenField]');
$this->form_validation->set_rules('editEmail', 'Email', 'required|checkEmailForUpdate[hiddenField]');
$this->form_validation->set_message('checkAccountnameForUpdate', 'Test2');
$this->form_validation->set_message('checkEmailForUpdate', 'Test');
// hiddenField is the name of a hiddenField containing the users ID.
I've googled around and tired some different stuff. I have no idea why it doesn't work.
EDIT 1:
I've tried to replace
$this->form_validation->set_rules('editAccountname', 'Brugernavn', 'required|checkAccountnameForUpdate[hiddenField]');
$this->form_validation->set_rules('editEmail', 'Email', 'required|checkEmailForUpdate[hiddenField]');
to
$this->form_validation->set_rules('editAccountname', 'Brugernavn', 'required|checkAccountnameForUpdate');
$this->form_validation->set_rules('editEmail', 'Email', 'required|checkEmailForUpdate');
No changes.

Answer 1

Here is my extension to the validation library. I have left a few functions out as they are site specific but do not affect the demo here.
APPPATH/libraries/MY_Form_validation.php
class MY_Form_validation extends CI_Form_validation
{
public function __construct($rules = array())
{
parent :: __construct($rules);
}
/*
* reformats the input to ###-###-#### and returns formatted string,
* if it cannot accomplish the format (of a non-empty input) it returns FALSE.
*/
public function phone_format($phone)
{
if(empty($phone))
{
//assume an empty field is OK.
//There needs to be a required rule to check a required field and that rule should
//be before this one in the list of rules
return TRUE;
}
$phone = preg_replace('/[^0-9]/', '', $phone);
$newPhone = preg_replace("/([0-9]{3})([0-9]{3})([0-9]{4})/", "$1-$2-$3", $phone);
if(preg_match('/((\d){3})?(\-){1}(\d){3}(\-){1}(\d){4}/', $newPhone))
{
//preg_replace was able to reformat it to the correct pattern - must be good
return $newPhone;
}
return FALSE;
}
/**
* field validation for zipcode
*/
public function check_zipcode($zipcode)
{
$result = (bool) preg_match("/^([0-9]{5})(-[0-9]{4})?$/i", $zipcode);
return $result;
}
}
We can test this class with the simple controller and view shown below. The test uses the phone_format validator function.
A couple things to note about how I'm using form_validation->set_rules().
First, I pass an array of rules instead of the usually demonstrated pipe separated string. eg. "trim|required". Why? Because set_rules() turns the string into an array anyway so why make it do the extra work?
Second. Notice I am passing a fourth argument. The fourth argument is not well documented. Its use is shown in the Setting Error Messages section but it is not described in the Class Reference section of the documentation. The argument accepts an array of error messages in the form ['rule_name' => 'This is the error message'].
I'm also in the habit of using the short syntax to create arrays eg. $this->data = []; instead of $this->data = array(); mostly because it's less typing.
Here's the test controller Testcase.php
class Testcase extends CI_Controller
{
protected $data;
function __construct()
{
parent::__construct();
$this->data = [];
$this->load->library('form_validation');
}
public function test_validation()
{
$this->form_validation->set_rules('phone', 'Phone'
, ['trim', 'required', 'phone_format']
, [
'phone_format' => 'Not a valid phone number.',
'required' => '<em>{field}</em> required.'
]
);
if($this->form_validation->run() == FALSE)
{
$this->load->view('test_form_v', $this->data);
}
else
{
echo "Passed Validation<br>";
echo $_POST['phone'];
}
}
}
And here is the view file test_form_v.php
<?php
echo form_open('testcase/test_validation');
echo form_input('phone', set_value('phone'));
echo form_error('phone');
echo form_submit('Submit', 'Submit');
echo form_close();
Run it by entering this url in a browser your_doman.whatever/testcase/test_validation
Submit without entering any input and you get the required error. Submit "123456789" and you get the invalid phone number error message. Submit "1234567890" and you get
Passed Validation
123-456-7890
This demonstrates that the extend class and its new validator works. I hope this helps you figure out your problem.