Question

Does Zend Framework provide an elegant way to check if the username already exist in the database?

Or is my only option to code a validator using a combination of php if/else and mysql select statements?

Answer 1

You can add a validator which will check in database if username already exist, if so it will notice the user. I am assuming you are using Zend_Form and Zend_Db_Table with at least one default db table database.

For example:

   $element = new Zend_Form_Element_Text('username');
    $element->setLabel('User:')
            ->addValidator(new Zend_Validate_Db_NoRecordExists('user', 'username'))
            ->setRequired(true);
    $this->addElement($element);

You will pass 2 parameters to validator, first is table name and second is the column you want to check.

That’s it!