Question

Given a model that has validations in the model_name.rb file, how can I access those validations manually? I’d like to cook up my own form validation system that would work alongside the built-in Rails tricks and I want to keep everything as DRY as possible. My main problem is that I need to make server-side validations before any of the form values hit the database (I’m using a multistep form).

Basically I’m wondering if there is a method like

User.validations.each do |v|
    puts v.constraint.to_s + " " + v.message
end

Is there anything similar to this?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

My main problem is that I need to make
server-side validations before any of
the form values hit the database (I’m
using a multistep form).

If your model is not valid according to the validations in its class file, then its data won’t get saved to the database (unless you pass false to the save method to suppress validations).

• You can ask a model if it’s valid at any point by invoking its valid?/invalid? methods.