custom config file not working with form validation - php

Question

i've set the validation rules in application/config/validation_rules.php and it looks like this
(short version)
$config = array(
'member/register' => array(
'field' => 'language',
'label' => 'language',
'rules' => 'required|min_length[5]|max_length[12]'
),
array(
'field' => 'email',
'label' => 'email',
'rules' => 'required|valid_email'
),
array(
'field' => 'password',
'label' => 'password',
'rules' => 'required|min_length[8]'
),
array(
'field' => 'verify_password',
'label' => 'password',
'rules' => 'required|min_length[8]|matches[password]'
));
and i'm calling it like this:
$this->config->load('validation_rules');
$this->form_validation->set_rules($config);
if($this->form_validation->run('member/register') == FALSE)
{
$page = array(
'meta_title' => 'member registration',
'load_page' => 'front/register_view'
);
$this->load->view('front/template', $page);
}
not only is the validation_errors() function not showing anything but i'm also getting this error:
Message: Undefined variable: config
update: (here is my controller)
class register extends CI_Controller
{
function __construct()
{
parent::__construct();
$this->load->library('form_validation');
}
function index()
{
$this->config->load('validation_rules', TRUE);
$this->form_validation->set_rules($this->config->item('config', 'validation_rules'));
if($this->form_validation->run('member/register') == FALSE)
{
//validation doesnt pass, load view
$page = array(
'meta_title' => 'member registration',
'load_page' => 'front/register_view'
);
$this->load->view('front/template', $page);
}
else
{
$register_data = array(
'language' => $this->input->post('language'),
'email' => $this->input->post('email'),
'password' => md5($this->input->post('password')),
'fname' => $this->input->post('fname'),
'lname' => $this->input->post('lname'),
'phone' => $this->input->post('phone'),
'address' => $this->input->post('address'),
'address2' => $this->input->post('address2'),
'city' => $this->input->post('city'),
'state' => $this->input->post('state'),
'zipcode' => $this->input->post('zipcode'),
'gfname' => $this->input->post('gfname'),
'glname' => $this->input->post('glname'),
'gphone' => $this->input->post('gphone')
);
$this->session->set_userdata($register_data);
}
}
function package()
{
$page = array(
'meta_title' => 'Register Package',
'load_page' => 'register_package_view'
);
$this->load->view('includes/template', $page);
}
}

Answer 1

I encountered same problem but I managed to fix it by using following configuration:
In my application/config/form_validation.php:
$config = array(
"register" => array(
array(
"field" => "username",
"label" => "Username",
"rules" => "required"
)
)
);
Auto-load the custom config file "form_validation.php" inside application/config/autoload.php:
$autoload['config'] = array('form_validation');
In my controller:
// manually set rules by taking $config["register"] from form_validation.php
$this->form_validation->set_rules($this->config->item("register"));
// call run() without parameter
if ($this->form_validation->run() == FALSE) {
$this->load->view("user/register_test");
} else {
echo "Form content is correct";
}
I've tried calling the validator using $this->form_validation->run("register"), without using $this->form_validation->set_rules() function, but I got no luck. Setting the rules manually by retrieving it from config array in form_validation.php make my day.

Answer 2

In case you are extending the form_validation library, you need to pass the $config array to the parent constructor:
class MY_Form_validation extends CI_Form_validation {
/**
* constuctoooor
*/
function MY_Form_validation($config){
parent::__construct($config);
}
http://ellislab.com/forums/viewthread/181937/
It's also cleaner using the method outlined in the docs: http://ellislab.com/codeigniter%20/user-guide/libraries/form_validation.html#savingtoconfig to avoid calling $this->form_validation->set_rules(...);
/**
* This is the POST target for the password reset form above
* #return null
*/
public function submit(){
// perform validation //
if($this->form_validation->run() == FALSE){
// display error on sign-up page //
$this->session->set_flashdata("system_validation_errors", validation_errors());
redirect('member/forgot/password');
}
// more awesome code
}

Answer 3

$this->config->load('validation_rules');
$this->form_validation->set_rules($config);
should be:
$this->config->load('validation_rules', TRUE);
$this->form_validation->set_rules($this->config->item('validation_rules', 'validation_rules'));
Per the documentation:
// Loads a config file named blog_settings.php and assigns it to an index named "blog_settings"
$this->config->load('blog_settings', TRUE);
// Retrieve a config item named site_name contained within the blog_settings array
$site_name = $this->config->item('site_name', 'blog_settings');
Your rules are wrong, you forgot to put the validation group in an array:
$config['validation_rules'] = array(
'member/register' => array(
array(
'field' => 'language',
'label' => 'language',
'rules' => 'required|min_length[5]|max_length[12]'
),
array(
'field' => 'email',
'label' => 'email',
'rules' => 'required|valid_email'
),
array(
'field' => 'password',
'label' => 'password',
'rules' => 'required|min_length[8]'
),
array(
'field' => 'verify_password',
'label' => 'password',
'rules' => 'required|min_length[8]|matches[password]'
)
)
);