PHP empty field validation

Question

I have a enrollment form where users have to input there address. I am using PHP for validation and currently I check to make sure the field is not empty. Here is my code:

if (empty($_POST['address'])) {
    $msg = 'You must enter an address' ;
} else {
    $address = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc, strip_tags(trim($_POST['address']))) ;
}

Now the problem is that is the user enters in a "blank" space by pressing the spacebar the filed passes validation. What I need is a way to make sure the user actually typed in a city and not just a blank space or a couple of blank spaces.

Just trim variable before you validate it

zerkms
– zerkms

2012-03-25 23:21:57 +00:00
Commented Mar 25, 2012 at 23:21 — zerkms
– zerkms, Commented Mar 25, 2012 at 23:21

Moshe · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-25 23:23:14Z

4

You already use trim() on the insert, why not call it once in the beginning, and test that value?

$user_address = trim($_POST['address']);

if (empty($user_address)) {
    $msg = 'You must enter an address' ;
} else {
    $address = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc, strip_tags($user_address)) ;
}

answered Mar 25, 2012 at 23:23

Moshe

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Comments

Jürgen Paul · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-25 23:21:39Z

0

if (empty($_POST['address']) || strlen(trim($_POST['address']))==0){
    $msg = 'You must enter an address' ;
}else {
    $address = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc, strip_tags(trim($_POST['address']))) ;
}

Trim the value.

answered Mar 25, 2012 at 23:21

Jürgen Paul

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1 Comment

Ry- Over a year ago

. is not the member access operator in PHP, and strings have no properties in PHP, and that condition is incorrect regardless. Try strlen(trim($_POST['address'])) === 0.

john_science · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-25 23:27:31Z

0

You need to consider regular expressions. I would start off using a split command: split(' ', $address).
From that point, you can add one extra else if statement to test and see if the resultant string is empty.
BUT, more importantly, you will now have the tools to test the entire address string to see if it contains: a two letter state code followed by a comma, and a 5(or9) digit zip code. (I can be more specific if you like.)

answered Mar 25, 2012 at 23:27

john_science

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Comments

Adeel · Accepted Answer · 2018-01-05 12:00:41Z

0

if($_POST['submit']){
    $address = $_POST['address'];

    if (empty($address)) {
        echo "You must enter an address";
    } else {
        $address = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc, strip_tags($user_address)) ;
    }
}

You can echo immediately the message if the field address is empty

also the $_POST['submit'] is to determine if the user click the submit button

edited Jan 5, 2018 at 12:00

Adeel

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answered Mar 26, 2012 at 5:08

SuperNoob

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