Validation rules
The validator works by invoking a series of rules, and comparing the input data against the rules. Each rule is an executable Java™ file that implements the Rule interface.
The validation plug-in supports two types of rules.
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ROW: row-level rules are executed first
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GRID: grid-level rules are executed after row-level rules.
All the rules are fired when the grid data is saved. However, all row-level rules are fired first, and then grid-level rules are fired. Rules are fired in the order they are declared in the rules file.
Data validation rules file structure
A validation rules file is an XML file containing one or more rules. Each rule can contain the following tags.
Tags for validation rules files
Tag
Description
rule
Begins the rule and sets the rule type, which can be either ROW or GRID.
name
The name of the rule.
desc
A text description of the rule.
enable
A boolean value for enabling or disabling the rule:
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false: the rule is disabled
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true: the rule is enabled
applies-to-tvc-id
The internal name of the TVC component for which the rule applies. To apply the rule to multiple grids, use a separate applies-to-tvc-id tag for each grid component. This tag is optional; if omitted, the rule is applied to all grids on the specified form.
class
The Java™ class containing the commands for processing the rule. To use the sample range check rule, you enter: com.unicacorp.uap.grid.validation.rule.basic.RangeCheckRule
set-property
The set-property tag passes parameters to the rules. Each rule can contain zero or more set-property tags.
IBM® Operações de Marketing ships with four sample rule types.
Sample validation rules
Rule
Description
BeginsWithRule
Ensures the text column being validated begins with the specified character. Set the following properties: beginCharacter, and column. For example:
<set-property property="beginCharacter" value="A"/>
<set-property property="column" value="dyn_vendors.Name"/>
This rule checks the Name field (stored in the dyn_vendors database table) to make sure that it begins with the letter A. Class name: com.unicacorp.uap.grid.validation.rule.basic.BeginsWithRule
UniqueCheckRule
Ensures the column being validated does not contain duplicate values. Set the column property. Class name: com.unicacorp.uap.grid.validation.rule.basic.UniqueCheckRule
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This rule is always applied across the entire grid, even if you use ROW to indicate that this is a row-level rule.
RangeCheckRule
Ensures the integer column being validated falls within the specified range. Set the following properties: minValue, maxValue, and column. For example:
<set-property property="minValue" value="1"/>
<set-property property="maxValue" value="999999"/>
<set-property property="column" value=
"dyn_vendors.numEmployees"/>
This rule checks the numEmployees field (stored in the dyn_vendors database table) to make sure that it is between 1 and 999,999. Class name: com.unicacorp.uap.grid.validation.rule.basic.RangeCheckRule
DateCheckRule
Ensures the date column being validated falls within the specified range. Set the following properties: greaterThan, lessThan, and column. For example:
<set-property property="greaterThan" value="12/31/1999"/>
<set-property property="lessThan" value="Today"/>
<set-property property="column" value=
"dyn_vendors.invoiceDate"/>
This rule checks the invoiceDate field (stored in the dyn_vendors database table) to make sure that it is not before the year 2000. Optionally, you can set the dateFormat property. If you add this property, dates must be entered in the specified format. You can set the following format values: dd/MM/yyyy, MM/dd/yyyy, dd/MM/yy, MM/dd/yy, yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy.MM.dd Class name: com.unicacorp.uap.grid.validation.rule.basic.DateCheckRule
Validation rule example
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