Zip Code string length validation help

8 Posts

cmuluna Reply #1, 17 years, 7 months ago

I am trying to validate the length of a zip code to 5 digits. Below is my PHP validation function:

<?php
function checkZipCode( &$fields )
       {
           
$zipcode = $fields[ZipCode]; 
$zipstring = (string)$zipcode;
$length=strlen($zipstring); 

if ($length == 5){
      return true;
      }else{
return false;
}
}
?>

and my input field looks like

<input name="ZipCode" id="zipcode" class="text" type="text" eform="Your Zip Code:string:1:must be 5 numerals:#FUNCTION checkZipCode"/></label>

Of course, I called the "checkZipCode" snippet on the page as well. The problem that I’m having is that any input I give it returns as false, even if I input 5 digits. Am I showing my PHP greenness here? Am I not using the function validation properly?

Thank you for all of your help.

MODX Staff
1,535 Posts

Garry Nutting Reply #2, 17 years, 7 months ago

This looks dodgy:

$zipcode = $fields[ZipCode];

Should it not be (note the quotes in the array reference):

$zipcode = $fields['ZipCode'];

Also, forget casting the zipcode to a string, let PHP do that for you automagically.

Garry Nutting
Senior Developer
MODX, LLC

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @garryn
Web: modx.com

24,544 Posts

BobRay Reply #3, 17 years, 7 months ago

Also, unless you plan to modify the zip code in the function, you don’t need the reference operator.

function checkZipCode( &$fields )

might as well be

function checkZipCode( $fields )

In fact, you could probably do away with the function entirely and just use:

if (strlen($fields[’zipcode’]) != 5) {
// do something
} else {
// do something else
}

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8 Posts

cmuluna Reply #4, 17 years, 7 months ago

Thank you for the quick replies. I changed the function to look like

<?php
function checkZipCode( $fields )
       {
           
if (strlen($fields['ZipCode']) != 5) {
  return false;
} else  {
  return true;
}
}
?>

yet I am still getting an error that my zipcode isn’t 5 characters, even when I put in "45632". I’m quite stumped.

24,544 Posts

BobRay Reply #5, 17 years, 7 months ago

Try putting

echo "FIELDS: ";
print_r($fields);

in the function. It will show you what’s arriving and what the actual array keys are.

If it’s blank, you have to move back up through your code to see why.

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8 Posts

cmuluna Reply #6, 17 years, 7 months ago

Ah HA! Thanks BobRay. It turns out that the only value that $fields had was the zipcode number. That was it. There was no array as we had thought. So, I changed the validation code to

<?php
function checkZipCode( $fields )
       {
          
if (strlen($fields) != 5) {
 return false;
} else  {
  return true;
}
}
?>

and it works. My thinking is that I called the function on ONLY the zipcode field, not as the eFormOnValidate event. Thus, $fields was passing only the value of the zipcode field, not the entire array. Am I correct in thinking this way?

Again, thank you BobRay and garryn for all of your support. The MODx community is truly outstanding.

24,544 Posts

BobRay Reply #7, 17 years, 7 months ago

Quote from: cmuluna at Feb 22, 2009, 08:31 PM

My thinking is that I called the function on ONLY the zipcode field, not as the eFormOnValidate event. Thus, $fields was passing only the value of the zipcode field, not the entire array. Am I correct in thinking this way?

That sounds right. Glad you got it sorted.

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