How to Validate Array Data in Laravel Using Request Classes

Create a Request Class:

As before, create a request class with your validation rules.

php artisan make:request StoreUserRequest

Define your validation rules in the generated request class (StoreUserRequest):

<?php

namespace AppHttpRequests;

use IlluminateFoundationHttpFormRequest;

class StoreUserRequest extends FormRequest
{
public function authorize()
{
return true;
}

public function rules()
{
return [
‘name’ => ‘required|string|max:255’,
’email’ => ‘required|email|unique:users,email’,
‘password’ => ‘required|string|min:8’,
];
}
}

Validate the Array Data in the Controller:

In your controller, you can validate the array data using the validation rules from the request class and additional rules if needed.

namespace AppHttpControllers;

use AppHttpRequestsStoreUserRequest;
use IlluminateHttpRequest;
use IlluminateSupportFacadesValidator;

class UserController extends Controller
{
public function store(Request $request)
{
// Example array data (in real use-case, this might come from another source)
$data = [
‘name’ => ‘John Doe’,
’email’ => ‘john.doe@example.com’,
‘password’ => ‘secret1234’,
‘age’ => 25,
‘terms’ => true,
];

// Retrieve rules from the request class
$requestClass = new StoreUserRequest();
$rulesFromRequestClass = $requestClass->rules();

// Additional validation rules
$additionalRules = [
‘age’ => ‘required|integer|min:18’,
‘terms’ => ‘accepted’,
];

// Combine rules from the request class and additional rules
$combinedRules = array_merge($rulesFromRequestClass, $additionalRules);

// Validate the data array with the combined rules
$validator = Validator::make($data, $combinedRules);

if ($validator->fails()) {
return response()->json([‘errors’ => $validator->errors()], 422);
}

// Use the validated data for further processing
$validatedData = $validator->validated();

// Example: Create a new user
$user = User::create($validatedData);

return response()->json([‘message’ => ‘User created successfully’, ‘user’ => $user], 201);
}
}

Customize Validation Messages (Optional):

You can customize the validation messages in the request class as needed.

 public function messages()
 {
 return [
 ‘name.required’ => ‘The name field is required.’,
 ’email.required’ => ‘The email field is required.’,
 ’email.email’ => ‘The email must be a valid email address.’,
 ‘password.required’ => ‘The password field is required.’,
 ‘age.required’ => ‘The age field is required.’,
 ‘terms.accepted’ => ‘You must accept the terms and conditions.’,
 ];
 }

By following these steps, you can validate array data using the validation rules defined in a request class, combined with additional rules, in your Laravel controller.