Specify different set of rules based on which function makes the request - php

Question

I wish to create a Request in a Laravel 5.1 application which has a specific set of rules based on the function that calls it.
For example, say, there are two functions in UsersController namely, login() and register(). The login() function requires only two inputs- username and password, whereas the register() function requires three inputs- username, password and email among other constraints. How can I create a single Request, call it UserRequest, that can handle the rules corresponding to both the above functions based on whichever makes the Request?
I am not sure if what I'm attempting could be done, or whether it is a good practice. Please suggest regarding the same as well.

Answer 1

You have a lot of flexibility since you can do whatever in rules() method, you just need a way to distinguish who is using the Request.
For this example, i would simply use the route() method(it tells you what route was called), you can do something like this:
class MyRequest extends Request {
/*
* Request rules
*/
protected $rules = [
// login rules
'login_route' => [
'login' => 'required',
],
// register rules
'register_route' => [
'login' => 'sometimes',
],
// depends if you need it
'default' => [
'login' => 'sometimes',
]
];
public function authorize()
{
return true; // or whatever
}
public function rules()
{
// where did this request come from?
$route = $this->route();
if(array_key_exists($route, $this->rules))
return $this->rules[$route];
return $this->rules['default'];
}
}
There are other ways, it depends on your problem, you could check the request method (GET, POST..) using getMethod() or check a segment, or instanciate an object on construct (dependency injection) to check if a user is logged in or not for example, really, it depends.
However, if the use case is complex, it is better to seperate in two requests.
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You mean form requests. Before your method will be excecuted, the validator checks the rules. If not valid, the not-valid messages array will be returned with http status 422. See example below from https://mattstauffer.co/blog/laravel-5.0-form-requests
<?php namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use App\Http\Requests\FriendFormRequest;
use Illuminate\Routing\Controller;
use Response;
use View;
class FriendsController extends Controller
{
public function getAddFriend()
{
return view('friends.add');
}
public function postAddFriend(FriendFormRequest $request)
{
return Response::make('Friend added!');
}
}
And then your form request class:
<?php namespace App\Http\Requests;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;
use Response;
class FriendFormRequest extends FormRequest
{
public function rules()
{
return [
'first_name' => 'required',
'email_address' => 'required|email'
];
}
public function authorize()
{
// Only allow logged in users
// return \Auth::check();
// Allows all users in
return true;
}
// OPTIONAL OVERRIDE
public function forbiddenResponse()
{
// Optionally, send a custom response on authorize failure
// (default is to just redirect to initial page with errors)
//
// Can return a response, a view, a redirect, or whatever else
return Response::make('Permission denied foo!', 403);
}
// OPTIONAL OVERRIDE
public function response()
{
// If you want to customize what happens on a failed validation,
// override this method.
// See what it does natively here:
}
}
You can make different 'standalone' form requests and use them for your controller methods.
Official documentation here: http://laravel.com/docs/master/validation#form-request-validation