mvc3 validate input 'not-equal-to'

Question

My forms have inputs with default helper text that guides the user on what to enter (rather than using labels). This makes validation tricky because the input value is never null.

How can I extend unobtrusive validation to handle this? The form shouldn't be valid if the Name input is equal to "Please enter your name..."

I started reading Brad Wilson's blog post on validation adapters, but I'm not sure if this is the right way to go? I need to be able to validate against different default values depending on the field.

Thanks

Answer 1

Here's a sample illustrating how you could proceed to implement a custom validation attribute:

public class NotEqualAttribute : ValidationAttribute, IClientValidatable
{
    public string OtherProperty { get; private set; }
    public NotEqualAttribute(string otherProperty)
    {
        OtherProperty = otherProperty;
    }

    protected override ValidationResult IsValid(object value, ValidationContext validationContext)
    {
        var property = validationContext.ObjectType.GetProperty(OtherProperty);
        if (property == null)
        {
            return new ValidationResult(
                string.Format(
                    CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, 
                    "{0} is unknown property", 
                    OtherProperty
                )
            );
        }
        var otherValue = property.GetValue(validationContext.ObjectInstance, null);
        if (object.Equals(value, otherValue))
        {
            return new ValidationResult(FormatErrorMessage(validationContext.DisplayName));
        }
        return null;
    }

    public IEnumerable<ModelClientValidationRule> GetClientValidationRules(ModelMetadata metadata, ControllerContext context)
    {
        var rule = new ModelClientValidationRule
        {
            ErrorMessage = ErrorMessage,
            ValidationType = "notequalto",
        };
        rule.ValidationParameters["other"] = OtherProperty;
        yield return rule;
    }
}

and then on the model:

public class MyViewModel
{
    public string Prop1 { get; set; }

    [NotEqual("Prop1", ErrorMessage = "should be different than Prop1")]
    public string Prop2 { get; set; }
}

controller:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View(new MyViewModel
        {
            Prop1 = "foo",
            Prop2 = "foo"
        });
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(MyViewModel model)
    {
        return View(model);
    }
}

and view:

@model MyViewModel

<script src="@Url.Content("~/Scripts/jquery.validate.js")" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="@Url.Content("~/Scripts/jquery.validate.unobtrusive.js")" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
    jQuery.validator.unobtrusive.adapters.add(
        'notequalto', ['other'], function (options) {
            options.rules['notEqualTo'] = '#' + options.params.other;
            if (options.message) {
                options.messages['notEqualTo'] = options.message;
            }
    });

    jQuery.validator.addMethod('notEqualTo', function(value, element, param) {
        return this.optional(element) || value != $(param).val();
    }, '');
</script>

@using (Html.BeginForm())
{
    <div>
        @Html.LabelFor(x => x.Prop1)
        @Html.EditorFor(x => x.Prop1)
        @Html.ValidationMessageFor(x => x.Prop1)
    </div>
    <div>
        @Html.LabelFor(x => x.Prop2)
        @Html.EditorFor(x => x.Prop2)
        @Html.ValidationMessageFor(x => x.Prop2)
    </div>
    <input type="submit" value="OK" />
}

Answer 2

Yes thats the right way to go. You should implement your own atribute and implement IClientValidatable.

You could also have a required boolean value set initially to false as a hidden form field. When the user changes the textbox, set it to true.