PHP Respect Validation
PHP Respect Validation tutorial shows how to validate PHP values with Respect Validation package.
PHP Respect Validation
last modified February 16, 2025
PHP Respect Validation tutorial shows how to validate PHP values with Respect Validation package.
Respect Validation
Respect Validation is a PHP Standalone Validation Library.
Installation
$ composer require respect/validation $ composer require tightenco/collect
We install the Respect Validation package and the Laravel’s collection package.
Respect Validation simple example
In the first example, we show how to do a very simple validation.
simple.php
<?php
require(‘vendor/autoload.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v;
$name = “John Doe”;
$r = v::alnum()->validate($name);
if ($r) {
echo "Validation passed";
} else {
echo "Validation failed";
}
The example validates one value.
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v;
We include the validator.
$r = v::alnum()->validate($name);
The alnum is a validation rule that allows alphanumeric values. It also allows a space. The validate method validates the rule and returns a boolean value indicating failure or success.
if ($r) {
echo "Validation passed";
} else {
echo "Validation failed";
}
Based on the returned value, we show the validation message.
$ php simple.php Validation passed
Adding a character
We can add a character to a rule.
add_character.php
<?php
require(‘vendor/autoload.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v;
$name = “Vane-Tempest-Stewart”;
$r = v::alnum(’-’)->validate($name);
if ($r) {
echo "Validation passed";
} else {
echo "Validation failed";
}
In the example, we add a dash to the alnum rule.
$name = “Vane-Tempest-Stewart”;
Some names might contain dash characters.
$r = v::alnum(’-’)->validate($name);
We add a dash character to the alnum rule.
Respect Validation chaining rules
The rules can be chained.
chaining.php
<?php
require(‘vendor/autoload.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v;
$name = “John”;
$r = v::alnum()->length(4, null)->validate($name);
if ($r) {
echo "Validation passed";
} else {
echo "Validation failed";
}
In the example, we have two rules: alnum and length.
$r = v::alnum()->length(4, null)->validate($name);
The name must contain only alphanumeric characters and must have at least four characters.
Respect Validation combining rules
The combining of rules is similar to the chaining technique. The Rules\AllOf is used to combine multiple rules.
combine_rules.php
<?php require(‘vendor/autoload.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v; use Respect\Validation\Rules;
$name = “John”;
$nameValidator = new Rules\AllOf( new Rules\Alnum(), new Rules\Length(5, 40) );
$r = $nameValidator->validate($name);
if ($r) {
echo "Validation passed";
} else {
echo "Validation failed";
}
The example combines two validation rules with Rules\AllOf.
Respect validation assert function
The validate method returns a boolean value. The assert method returns a complete validation report.
assert_fun.php
<?php
require(‘vendor/autoload.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v; use Respect\Validation\Exceptions\NestedValidationException;
$name = “”;
$validator = v::alnum()->notempty();
try {
$validator->assert($name);
} catch(NestedValidationException $ex) {
$coll = collect($ex->getMessages());
$messages = $coll->flatten();
foreach ($messages as $message) {
echo $message . "\n";
}
}
The example uses an assert method on a validation rule and shows the error messages.
$validator->assert($name);
We validate a name value with assert.
$coll = collect($ex->getMessages());
$messages = $coll->flatten();
foreach ($messages as $message) { echo $message . “\n”; }
With the help of the Laravel’s collections, we show the error messages.
$ php assert_fun.php "" must contain only letters (a-z) and digits (0-9) "" must not be empty
Respect Validation between rule
The between rule validates ranges including integers, characters, and dates.
between_rule.php
<?php
require(‘vendor/autoload.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v;
$age = 34;
$r = v::intVal()->between(18, 99)->validate($age);
if ($r) {
echo "Age validation passed\n";
} else {
echo "Age validation failed\n";
}
$char = ‘g’;
$r = v::stringType()->between(‘a’, ‘c’)->validate($char);
if ($r) {
echo "Letter validation passed\n";
} else {
echo "Letter validation failed\n";
}
$myDate = ‘2013-01-01’;
$r = v::date()->between(‘2009-01-01’, ‘2019-01-01’)->validate($myDate);
if ($r) {
echo "Date validation passed\n";
} else {
echo "Date validation failed\n";
}
The example uses the between rule.
$r = v::intVal()->between(18, 99)->validate($age);
This rule checks if the $age variable is between 18 and 99.
$r = v::stringType()->between(‘a’, ‘c’)->validate($char);
This rule checks if the $char variable is between ‘a’ and ‘c’ characters.
$r = v::date()->between(‘2009-01-01’, ‘2019-01-01’)->validate($myDate);
This rule checks if the $myDate variable is between two specified dates.
Respect Validation objects
Object attributes are validated with attribute.
user.php
<?php
class User {
private $name;
private $email;
public function getName() : string {
return $this->name;
}
public function setName($name) : void {
$this->name = $name;
}
public function getEmail() : string {
return $this->email;
}
public function setEmail($email) : void {
$this->email = $email;
}
}
This is user.php.
validate_object.php
<?php
require(‘vendor/autoload.php’); require_once(‘user.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v; use Respect\Validation\Exceptions\NestedValidationException;
$user = new User(); $user->setName(‘Jo’); $user->setEmail(‘johndoe#gmail.com’);
$userValidator = v::attribute(’name’, v::alnum()->length(4, null)) ->attribute(’email’, v::email());
try { $userValidator->assert($user); } catch(NestedValidationException $ex) {
$coll = collect($ex->getMessages());
$messages = $coll->flatten();
foreach ($messages as $message) {
echo $message . "\n";
}
}
The example validates the attributes of the User class.
$userValidator = v::attribute(’name’, v::alnum()->length(4, null)) ->attribute(’email’, v::email());
These are rules for the attributes of the user object.
$ php validate_object.php name must have a length greater than 4 email must be valid email
Custom message
We can provide custom validation messages.
custom_message.php
<?php
require(‘vendor/autoload.php’);
use Respect\Validation\Validator as v; use Respect\Validation\Exceptions\NestedValidationException;
$name = “”;
$validator = v::alnum()->notEmpty()->setName(’name’);
try {
$validator->assert($name);
} catch(NestedValidationException $ex) {
$errors = $ex->findMessages([
'alnum' => '{{name}} must contain only letters and digits',
'notEmpty' => '{{name}} must not be empty'
]);
$coll = collect($errors);
$messages = $coll->flatten();
foreach ($messages as $message) {
echo $message . "\n";
}
}
The example adds two custom messages.
$validator = v::alnum()->notEmpty()->setName(’name’);
With the setName method, we set a value for a template placeholder.
$errors = $ex->findMessages([ ‘alnum’ => ‘{{name}} must contain only letters and digits’, ’notEmpty’ => ‘{{name}} must not be empty’ ]);
Here we provide custom error messages.
$ php custom_message.php name must contain only letters and digits name must not be empty
Source
The Respect Validation - Github repository
In this article we have used PHP Respect Validation library to validate values.
Author
My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.
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