[eluser]OverZealous[/eluser]
Sorry this is so much later, but I just read your post and wanted to make a suggestion:
When saving an existing object, you should load that object in, first. This allows DM to determine which fields have changed, and only update those fields.
Code:
$u = new User();
$u->get_by_id($input->form->post['user_id']);
// set data
$u->save();
// etc.
If it is a new object, every required field should be filled out (I mean, it's required, right?).
If the field is sometimes required, and sometimes not, I have a simple trick that works really well. I add a
_required method to the model, which I can then always return TRUE on. This prevents errors for empty fields. Then I have a custom validation routine that determines if that field is necessary or not:
Code:
$validation = array(
array(
'field' => 'first',
'rules' => array('required', 'check_names')
), // etc
);
// down in the validation routines
function _required($field) {
if(in_array($field, array('first', 'last')) {
return TRUE;
} else {
return !empty($this->{$field});
}
}
function check_names($field) {
// require either first OR last
return empty($this->first) && empty($this->last);
}
You will need to have a language key called "check_names" with a message like:
"You must include either a first name or a last name."
