Basic Form + Validation

blt4424 · October 10, 2010

I'm trying to do a basic form with php which asks for first, last name, and age with validation. I'm having trouble with my validation and the error counter. I want it to redisplay the form with the errors and entered input.

My formhandler.php is here:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><title>Form Handler</title></head><body><?php$fName =  validateInput($_POST['fName']);$lName = validateInput($_POST['lName']);$age = validateAge($_POST['age']); function displayRequired($fieldName){echo "The field \"$fieldName\" is required.<br />n";}function validateInput($fName, $lName){if ($errorCountInput>0){echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";redisplayForm($firstName, $lastName);}else{if(empty($fName, $lName)){	displayRequired($fieldName);	++$errorCount;	$returnval = "";}else{	$returnval = trim($fName,$lName);	$returnval = stripslashes($returnval);}return($returnval);}}$erorrCount= 0;function validateAge($age){global $errorCount;if ($errorCount>0){echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";redisplayForm($age);					}else{if(empty($age)){	echo "<p>The age field is required!</p>\n";	++$errorCount;	$returnval = "";	redisplayForm($fName, $lName, $age);				}else{	$age = trim($age);	$age = stripslashes($age);	if(is_numeric($age)){		$age = round($age);		if(($age >= 1) && 			($age <= 130)){			$agereturnval = $age;		} else {			echo "<p>The age field must be between 1 and 130.</p>\n";			++$errorCount;			$agereturnval = "";		}	}else {		echo "<p>The age field must be a number between 1 and 130.</p>\n";		++$errorCount;		$returnval = "";	}}return($returnval);					}$errorcount = 0;echo "Hi ".$fName." ".$lName."."."<br />";echo "You are ".$age." years old. <br />";echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'];?></body></html>

Any help would be much appreciated. I've looked at this for hours and I just need another set of eyes to pick some things out. Once you get too close to code it gets hard to figure it out.

BlueSkyIS · October 10, 2010

$errorCount++;

blt4424 · October 10, 2010

Ok didn't know that.

I'm having trouble on line 28 in validateInput, something with my if statement?

function validateInput($fName, $lName){if ($errorCountInput>0){echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";redisplayForm($firstName, $lastName);}else{[b]if(empty($fName, $lName)){[/b]	displayRequired($fieldName);	$errorCount++;	$returnval = "";}else{	$returnval = trim($fName,$lName);	$returnval = stripslashes($returnval);}return($returnval);}}$erorrCount= 0;

BlueSkyIS · October 10, 2010

what is the value of $errorCountInput?

Pikachu2000 · October 10, 2010

if( empty($first_var) || empty($second_var) )

blt4424 · October 11, 2010

Whoops that's not supposed to say errorCountInput

Thanks Pikachu!

Now...

I'm getting an issue with the last line, </html>...?

I think that means I have a missing curly brace, right?

ialsoagree · October 11, 2010

Quick count suggests that function validateAge($age){ doesn't have a closing brace.

blt4424 · October 11, 2010

Thanks I counted like 6 times and couldn't keep track...

Now it runs but it doesn't echo anything I input. This validation is kicking my butt. Too many if statements together...

Is it ok how I have errorCount for both inputValidation and ageValidation? I was unsure how I could do validation function for both all in one. Might've made this simpler...

However, he's my output as of now... eek! I really appreciate your help guys. I'm a newbie to this!

Warning: Missing argument 2 for validateInput(), called in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 13 and defined in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 22

Notice: Undefined variable: errorCount in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 23

Notice: Undefined variable: fieldName in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 29

The field "" is required.

n

Notice: Undefined variable: errorCount in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 30

Warning: Missing argument 2 for validateInput(), called in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 14 and defined in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 22

Notice: Undefined variable: errorCount in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 23

Notice: Undefined variable: fieldName in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 29

The field "" is required.

n

Notice: Undefined variable: errorCount in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 30

Notice: Undefined variable: returnval in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 76

Hi .

You are years old.

C:/wamp/www/formhandler.php

BlueSkyIS · October 11, 2010

read the warnings.

pengu · October 11, 2010

Output all your variables, echo them. Make sure they are all being populated.

blt4424 · October 12, 2010

Ok I tried combining the $fName and $lName, however, I'm having trouble with those if(!validateInput ()) statements. I'm getting a parse error.

Commenting those out and trying to run my code, it somewhat works, displaying the input except for the age input. However it will give me the erorr saying it wasn't between 1 and 130 when the input was say "20".

Also, if I don't enter say a first name, it gives me the error to re-enter the info, but doesn't redisplay the form with the input.

Here's my code at the moment.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>Form Handler</title>
</head>

<body>



<?php
$fName =  validateInput($_POST['fName']);
$lName = validateInput($_POST['lName']);
$age = validateAge($_POST['age']); 


function displayRequired($fieldName){
echo "The field \"$fieldName\" is required.<br />n";
}

if (!validateInput($_POST['fName']) {
    echo "First name is required.<br />n";
}
if (!validateInput($_POST['lName']) {
    echo "Last name is required.<br />n";
}

function validateInput($inputString){
if (empty($inputString)){
       	echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";
redisplayForm($inputString);
        }
else{
if(empty($inputString)){
	displayRequired($fieldName);
	$errorCount++;
	$returnval = "";
}
	else{
	$returnval = trim($inputString);
	$returnval = stripslashes($returnval);
}
return($returnval);
}
if($errorCount==0){
            return true;
        }else {
            return false;
        }
        }
$erorrCount= 0;



function validateAge($age){
global $errorCount;
if ($errorCount>0){
echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";
redisplayForm($$age);
					}
else{
if(empty($age)){
	echo "<p>The age field is required!</p>\n";
	$errorCount++;
	$returnval = "";
	redisplayForm($age);
				}
else{
	$age = trim($age);
                $agereturnval = "";
	$age = stripslashes($agereturnval);
	if(is_numeric($age)){
		$age = round($age);
		if(($age >= 1) && 
			($age <= 130)){
			$agereturnval = $age;
		} else {
			echo "<p>The age field must be between 1 and 130.</p>\n";
			$errorCount++;
			$agereturnval = "";
		}
	}else {
		echo "<p>The age field must be a number between 1 and 130.</p>\n";
		$errorCount++;
		$agereturnval = "";
	}
}
return($agereturnval);
					}
}
$errorcount = 0;


echo "Hi ".$fName." ".$lName."."."<br />";
echo "You are ".$age." years old. <br />";
echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'];
?>


</body>
</html>

blt4424 · October 12, 2010

Stupid me, I didn't have a redisplayForm function with the form code.

However, it isn't redisplaying the input.

<?php
$fName =  validateInput($_POST['fName']);
$lName = validateInput($_POST['lName']);
$age = validateAge($_POST['age']); 

function redisplayForm($inputString, $age){
    ?>
    <form action = "formhandler.php" method = "post">

First name: <input type = "text" name = "fName" /> <br />

Last name: <input type = "text" name = "lName" /> <br />

Age: <input type = "text" name = "age" /> <br />

<input type = "submit" value = "SUBMIT" />
</form>
    <?php
}

function displayRequired($fieldName){
echo "The field \"$fieldName\" is required.<br />n";
}


function validateInput($inputString){
if (empty($inputString)){
       	echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";
redisplayForm($inputString, $age);
        }
else{
if(empty($inputString)){
	displayRequired($fieldName);
	$errorCount++;
	$returnval = "";
}
	else{
	$returnval = trim($inputString);
	$returnval = stripslashes($returnval);
}
return($returnval);
}
if($errorCount==0){
            return true;
        }else {
            return false;
        }
        }
$erorrCount= 0;



function validateAge($age){
global $errorCount;
if ($errorCount>0){
echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";
redisplayForm($inputString, $age);
					}
else{
if(empty($age)){
	echo "<p>The age field is required!</p>\n";
	$errorCount++;
	$returnval = "";
	redisplayForm($inputString, $age);
				}
else{
	$age = trim($age);
                $agereturnval = "";
	$age = stripslashes($agereturnval);
	if(is_numeric($age)){
		$age = round($age);
		if(($age >= 1) && 
			($age <= 130)){
			$agereturnval = $age;
		} else {
			echo "<p>The age field must be between 1 and 130.</p>\n";
			$errorCount++;
			$agereturnval = "";
		}
	}else {
		echo "<p>The age field must be a number between 1 and 130.</p>\n";
		$errorCount++;
		$agereturnval = "";
	}
}
return($agereturnval);
					}
}
$errorcount = 0;


echo "Hi ".$fName." ".$lName."."."<br />";
echo "You are ".$age." years old. <br />";
echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'];
?>

Please re-enter the information below.

Notice: Undefined variable: age in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 40

First name:

Last name:

Age:

Notice: Undefined variable: errorCount in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 54

The age field must be a number between 1 and 130.

Hi bob 1.

You are years old.

C:/wamp/www/formhandler.php

blt4424 · October 12, 2010

I've made alterations, however I'm now just getting a blank page...

<?phpfunction redisplayForm($label='',$age=''){    if($label != '')    {        echo '<p>Your '.$label.'</p>';    }    ?>    <form action = "formhandler.php" method = "post">First name: <input type = "text" name = "fName" /> <br />Last name: <input type = "text" name = "lName" /> <br />Age: <input type = "text" name = "age" /> <br /><input type = "submit" value = "SUBMIT" /></form>    <?php}function displayRequired($fieldName){echo "The field \"$fieldName\" is required.<br />n";}function validateInput($inputString, $label){if (empty($inputString))        {       	echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";redisplayForm($label, $age);        exit();        }        else        {            if(empty($inputString))            {        $errorCount++;$returnval = "";       displayRequired($fieldName);        }else    {$returnval = trim($inputString);$returnval = stripslashes($returnval);}return($returnval);}if($errorCount==0)    {            return true;        }        else            {            return false;        }}function validateAge($age,$errorCount)   {if ($errorCount>0)            {echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";redisplayForm($inputString, $age);        exit();}else    {if(empty($age))            {	echo "<p>The age field is required!</p>\n";	$errorCount++;	$returnval = "";	redisplayForm($inputString, $age);                exit();            }                else            {	$age = intval(trim($age));	if(is_numeric($age))                    {		$age = round($age);		if(($age >= 1) && 			($age <= 130))                        {                            $agereturnval = $age;		}                         else                            {			echo "<p>The age field must be between 1 and 130.</p>\n";			++$errorCount;			$agereturnval = "";		}	}                else                    {		echo "<p>The age field must be a number between 1 and 130.</p>\n";		++$errorCount;		$agereturnval = "";	}}return($agereturnval);}    return $age;}?><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><title>Form Handler</title></head><body><?phpif(isset($_POST['submit']))  {    $errorCount=0;   $fName =  validateInput($_POST['fName'], "First name");   $lName = validateInput($_POST['lName'], "Last name");    $age = validateAge($_POST['age'], "Age");    if($errorCount ==0)    {echo "Hi ".$fName." ".$lName."."."<br />";echo "You are ".$age." years old. <br />";echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'];}else{    redisplayForm();}  }?></body></html>

Pikachu2000 · October 12, 2010

May I ask why you're trying to do all of this with these functions? It all seems a bit unnecessary and overcomplicated, especially since you have more functions than you do form fields.

blt4424 · October 12, 2010

Perhaps you're right, but this is how I've learned :shrug:

<?phpfunction redisplayForm($label='',$age=''){    if($label != '')    {        echo '<p>Your '.$label.' is required!'.'</p>';    }    ?><form action = "formhandler.php" method = "post">First name: <input type = "text" name = "fName" /> <br />Last name: <input type = "text" name = "lName" /> <br />Age: <input type = "text" name = "age" /> <br /><input type="submit" name="submit" value = "SUBMIT" /></form><?php}function displayRequired($fieldName){    echo "The field \"$fieldName\" is required.<br />n";}function validateInput($inputString,$label){    if (empty($inputString))    {        echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";        redisplayForm($label, $age);        exit();    }    else    {        if(empty($inputString))        {            $errorCount++;            $returnval = "";            displayRequired($fieldName);        }        else        {            $returnval = trim($inputString);            $returnval = stripslashes($returnval);        }        return($returnval);    }    if($errorCount==0)    {        return true;    }    else    {        return false;    }}function validateAge($age,$errorCount){    if ($errorCount > 0)    {        echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";        redisplayForm($label, $age);        exit();    }    else    {        if(empty($age))        {            echo "<p>The age field is required!</p>\n";            $errorCount++;            $returnval = "";            redisplayForm($inputString, $age);            exit();        }        else        {            $age = intval(trim($age));            if(is_numeric($age))            {                $age = round($age);                if(($age >= 1) && ($age <= 130))                {                    $agereturnval = $age;                }                else                {                    echo "<p>The age field must be between 1 and 130.</p>\n";                    $errorCount++;                    $agereturnval = "";                }            }            else            {                echo "<p>The age field must be a number between 1 and 130.</p>\n";                $errorCount++;                $agereturnval = "";            }        }        return($agereturnval);    }    return $age;}?><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><title>Untitled Document</title></head><body><?phpif(isset($_POST['submit'])){    $errorCount= 0;    $fName =  validateInput($_POST['fName'],'First Name');    $lName = validateInput($_POST['lName'],'Last Name');    $age = validateAge($_POST['age'],$errorCount);    if($errorCount == 0)    {    echo "Hi ".$fName." ".$lName."."."<br />";    echo "You are ".$age." years old. <br />";    echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'];    }}else{    redisplayForm();}?></body></html>

Works but get

Notice: Undefined variable: age in C:\wamp\www\formhandler.php on line 26

Which is...(in bold)

function validateInput($inputString,$label)

{

if (empty($inputString))

{

echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";

redisplayForm($label, $age);

exit();

Pikachu2000 · October 12, 2010

This is a quick rework of that form, without the functions. It will now display any fields that were previously entered, and any errors encountered. If the form is submitted error-free the welcome message is displayed without the form. It's also about 60 lines shorter. The point is there is no need to write a function for everything in the script. If I was going to write any function for that script, it would be only to validate the name fields since they have basically the same requirements. That would save another 10 or so lines of code, but I really didn't think it was worth the trouble. If I knew I could use the function in other places in the project, I'd put it in an external file and include() it where needed.

<?php
if( $_POST['submitted'] == 'yes' ) {  //check value of new hidden field to verify form submission
   array_map('trim', $_POST);  // trim() then entire $_POST array at once
   $errors = array();  // initialize an array to store validation errors
   
   if( !empty($_POST['fName']) ) {  //validate first name to have a value and that the value is alpha
      if( ctype_alpha($_POST['fName']) ) {
         $fName = $_POST['fName'];
      } else {
         $errors[] = 'First name contains invalid characters.';
      }
   } else {
      $errors[] = 'First name is a required field.';
   }
   
   if( !empty($_POST['lName']) ) {  // validate the last name to have a value and that the value is alpha
      if( ctype_alpha($_POST['lName']) ) {
         $lName = $_POST['lName'];
      } else {
         $errors[] = 'Last name contains invalid characters.';
      }
   } else {
      $errors[] = 'Last name is a required field.';
   }
   
   if( !empty($_POST['age']) ) {  // validate age to have a value and the value is within the range of 10- 105
      $range = range(10, 105);
      if( ctype_digit($_POST['age']) || (!in_array($_POST, $range)) ) {
         $age = (int) $_POST['age'];
      } else {
         $errors[] = 'Age must be a number between 10 - 105';
      }
   } else {
      $errors[] = 'Age is a required field.';
   }
   
   if( !empty($errors) ) { // if there are validation errors, display them
      $n = count($errors);
      $i = 1;
      foreach( $errors as $v ) {
         echo "<font color=\"red\">$v</font>";
         echo $i < $n ? '<br />' : '';
         $i++;
      }
   }
}
?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>Form Handler</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
if( ($_POST['submitted'] == 'yes' && !empty($errors)) || $_POST['submitted'] != 'yes' ) { // if the form has not been submitted, or there are errors, display the form along with any values entered
?>
<form action = "formhandler.php" method = "post">
First name: <input type = "text" name = "fName" value="<?php echo !empty($_POST['fName']) ? $_POST['fName'] : ''; ?>" /> <br />
Last name: <input type = "text" name = "lName" value="<?php echo !empty($_POST['lName']) ? $_POST['lName'] : ''; ?>" /> <br />
Age: <input type = "text" name = "age" value="<?php echo !empty($_POST['age']) ? $_POST['age'] : ''; ?>"/> <br />
<input type="hidden" name="submitted" value="yes" /> <!-- hidden field to pander to some browsers' improper handling of submit buttons -->
<input type = "submit" value = "SUBMIT" />
</form>
<?php
} else {  // if form submitted and free of errors, display message.
   echo "Welcome $fName $lName. You are $age years old.";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

blt4424 · October 12, 2010

OK, one last question.

I have a php program that has the form, the form then goes to the form handler for validation,printing. However, I have to hit the submit button twice for it to do anything.

Pikachu2000 · October 12, 2010

I'd need to see all of the code to get a decent idea of what's going on with it. Could be any number of things.

blt4424 · October 12, 2010

I change post to get, thinking that might be the problem, but no.

<?php
function redisplayForm($label='', $age='')
{
    if($label != '')
    {
        echo '<p>Your '.$label.' is required!'.'</p>';
    }
    ?>
<form action = "formhandler.php" method = "get">
First name: <input type = "text" name = "fName" value ="<?php echo $_GET['fName'];?>" /> <br />
Last name: <input type = "text" name = "lName" value ="<?php echo $_GET['lName'];?>" /> <br />
Age: <input type = "text" name = "age" value ="<?php echo $_GET['age'];?>"/> <br />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value = "SUBMIT" />
</form>
<?php
}
function displayRequired($fieldName)
{
    echo "The field \"$fieldName\" is required.<br />n";
}
function validateInput($inputString,$label)
{
    if (empty($inputString))
    {
        echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";
        $errorCount++;
        redisplayForm($label);
        exit();
    }
    else
    {
        if(empty($inputString))
        {
            $errorCount++;
            $returnval = "";
            displayRequired($fieldName);
        }
        else
        {
            $returnval = trim($inputString);
            $returnval = stripslashes($returnval);
        }
        return($returnval);
    }
    if($errorCount==0)
    {
        return true;
    }
    else
    {
        return false;
    }
}
function validateAge($age,$errorCount)
{
    if ($errorCount > 0)
    {
        echo "Please re-enter the information below.<br />\n";
        redisplayForm($age);
        exit();
    }
    else
    {
        if(empty($age))
        {
            echo "<p>The age field is required!</p>\n";
            $errorCount++;
            $returnval = "";
            redisplayForm($age);
            exit();
        }
        else
        {
            $age = intval(trim($age));
            if(is_numeric($age))
            {
                $age = round($age);
                if(($age >= 1) && ($age <= 130))
                {
                    $agereturnval = $age;
                }
                else
                {
                    echo "<p>The age field must be between 1 and 130.</p>\n";
                    redisplayForm($age);
                    $errorCount++;
                    $agereturnval = "";
                }
            }
            else
            {
                echo "<p>The age field must be a number between 1 and 130.</p>\n";
                redisplayForm($age);
                $errorCount++;
                $agereturnval = "";
            }
        }
        return($agereturnval);
    }
    return $age;
}
?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>Untitled Document</title>
</head>

<body>
<?php
if(isset($_GET['submit']))
{
    $errorCount= 0;
    $fName =  validateInput($_GET['fName'],'First Name');
    $lName = validateInput($_GET['lName'],'Last Name');
    $age = validateAge($_GET['age'],'Age');
    if($errorCount == 0)
    {
    echo "Hi ".$fName." ".$lName."."."<br />";
    echo "You are ".$age." years old. <br />";
    echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'];
    }
}
else
{
    redisplayForm();
}
?>
</body>
</html>

Pikachu2000 · October 12, 2010

Works fine for me with both Firefox and Safari . . .

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Basic Form + Validation

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