Validating DateTime format in model

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?

BvuRVKyUVlViVIc7 · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-10T14:02:22.003

11

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

edited Jun 10 '15 at 14:02

answered Dec 22 '11 at 18:59

BvuRVKyUVlViVIc7

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Thank you! Currently I'm using the date_select form helper within rails. So I wasn't exactly sure how that passed the variables to the model. Is it all sent as one format like 12/10/2011? If it is, this regex should be awesome! Thanks! – Rapture Dec 22 '11 at 19:44
No, sorry, I think this solution works only if you have a single textfield. – BvuRVKyUVlViVIc7 Dec 22 '11 at 20:06
Maybe I'll do a single text field - will be easier to hook up a javascript selector anyway. Thanks for the tip! – Rapture Dec 22 '11 at 20:44
1

Yeah you are right.. jQuery Datepicker is a good choice for example! – BvuRVKyUVlViVIc7 Dec 22 '11 at 21:02
Going ahead and accepting because I don't think there is any other way to validate the date_select form. Thanks! Looking into getting JQuery UI up and running! – Rapture Dec 22 '11 at 22:16
Remembering that this regex does not check if the date is valid, it accepts 02/31/2012 for example but the database not. – Fernando Almeida Dec 23 '11 at 14:25
This another post can help http://stackoverflow.com/questions/597328/how-do-i-validate-a-date-in-rails – Fernando Almeida Dec 23 '11 at 14:30
1

the parentheses is required: validate do self.errors[:start] << "must be a valid date" unless (DateTime.parse(self.start) rescue false) end – lingceng Jun 09 '15 at 09:36
True, I fixed it. Thanks – BvuRVKyUVlViVIc7 Jun 10 '15 at 14:02

dgilperez · Answer 2 · 2013-08-15T11:43:46.123

2

You may want to check out validates_timeliness gem.

This gem enables some useful date and time-relations validations. In your case, you might use it to validate your start attribute like this:

class Task < ActiveRecord::Base
  validates_datetime :start
  # or
  validates :start, presence: true, timeliness: {type: :datetime}
end

edited Aug 15 '13 at 11:43

answered Aug 15 '13 at 10:56

dgilperez

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@kleopatra thanks for the advice. I extended the answer to refer to the particular context of the question and making it stand-alone. Cheers! – dgilperez Aug 15 '13 at 11:44

Validating DateTime format in model

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