Question

I’m adding validations to a model with a start column that is typed as datetime

Currently I only use the date_select form helper, but have left the column typed to datetime in case I decide I want to use the time value in the future.

I am currently using:

validates :start, :presence => true

But I want to know if there is a :format => that will ensure I’m getting a date passed in. I know it’s unlikely that someone would change the select boxes around, but I figure you can’t be too careful, right?

Answer 1

It depends what date formats you want to accept.

f.e.

validates :start, :presence => true, :format => /(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])[- /.](0[1-9]|1[012])[- /.](19|20)\d\d/

for dd-mm-yyyy as dateformat.

Google for date regexp!

Since my answer was downvoted i give it another try:

   validate do
      self.errors[:start] << "must be a valid date" unless (DateTime.parse(self.start) rescue false)
   end