ValidateThis

A ColdFusion Validation Framework

Generating Client-Side Validations

There are two methods that you’ll use when generating client-side validations::

The getInitializationScript() Method

Use the getInitializationScript() method to return JavaScript code to set up client-side validations. You only need to generate this script once per page, and can include links for the JavaScript libraries required by the framework.

Arguments

It accepts the following arguments:

  • JSLib (optional) The name of the JavaScript implementation to be used to generate the script.
    • If not passed in the JSLib that is specified in the DefaultJSLib key of the ValidateThisConfig Struct will be used.
    • Note that as there is currently only one JS implementation available, it is currently unnecessary to pass this argument into this method.
  • JSIncludes (optional) A boolean indicating whether to return the JS statements that include the libraries required by the framework.
    • This exists to allow a developer to generate the setup script, but still manually add their own <script> tags for the libraries. This can be helpful when one is already including some of the libraries (e.g., jQuery) in their document.
  • locale (optional) The locale to be used for translating validation failure messages.
    • Unless you are supporting multiple languages this argument can be ignored.

Return Value

The getInitializationScript() method returns a string that contains an entire block of JavaScript which can then be inserted into your page. This includes the opening and closing <script> tags.

Examples

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<cfset theScript = application.ValidateThis.getInitializationScript() />
<cfhtmlhead text="#theScript#" />

This would ask the framework to generate the JavaScript required to setup the client-side validations. That script is then being loaded into the document via the <cfhtmlhead> tag.

If one does not want the framework to include the <script> tag to load the required libraries, one would call it like this:

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<cfset theScript = application.ValidateThis.getInitializationScript(JSIncludes=false) />

The getValidationScript() Method

Use the getValidationScript() method to return JavaScript code for all of the rules that you’ve defined.

Arguments

It accepts the following arguments: * theObject (optional) The actual object for which to generate client-side validations. * objectType (optional) The name of the object type as defined to the framework. * One of either theObject or objectType must be specified, so the framework can identify for which object the script should be returned. * For more information on why both are optional but at least one is required, see the section on Specifying the objectType on a Method Call. * context (optional) The name of a context used in the object’s rules definition file. * If passed, the object will be validated using the specified context. Only rules assigned to that context will be evaluated. * formName (optional) The name of the form in the html document to which validations are to be attached. * If not passed in the framework will use one of two values: *If a formName is associated with the given context in your Rules Definition File via the <contexts> element, that formName will be used. * Otherwise the formName that is specified in the defaultFormName key of the ValidateThisConfig Struct will be used. * JSLib (optional) The name of the JavaScript implementation to be used to generate the script. * If not passed in the JSLib that is specified in the DefaultJSLib key of the ValidateThisConfig Struct will be used. * Note that as there is currently only one JS implementation available, it is currently unnecessary to pass this argument into this method. * locale (optional) The locale to be used for translating validation failure messages. * Unless you are supporting multiple languages this argument can be ignored.

Return Value

The getValidationScript() method returns a string that contains an entire block of JavaScript which can then be inserted into your page. This includes the opening and closing <script> tags.

Example

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<cfset theScript = application.ValidateThis.getValidationScript(objectType='User',context='Register') />
<cfhtmlhead text="#theScript#" />

This would ask the framework to generate the JavaScript required to perform the client-side validations defined in the rules definition file called User.xml for the context of Register. That script is then being loaded into the document via the <cfhtmlhead> tag.

For more information on interacting with the ValidateThis.cfc facade object, see the section on Using the ValidateThis Facade Object.

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