getPost() not working as expected

Hi,
I have a simple process in my controller, however if the POST of form input 'first_name' is empty, the statement if($this->request->getPost('first_name') ) is evaluated FALSE and (of course) an exception is reported as $data['employee_data']['first_name'] does not exist.

Is this how request->getPost() is supposed to work for empty form input fields?

This is quite annoying especially if the form input firld is optional !

PHP Code:

if($this->request->getGet('emp_no')){
    $data['emp_no']=$this->request->getGet('emp_no');
    $data['employee_data']=$em->getEmployeeById($this->request->getGet('emp_no'));
    
}else{
    if($this->request->getPost('emp_no')){
        $data['emp_no']=$this->request->getPost('emp_no');
    }
}
            
if ($this->request->getPost('first_name')) {                
    $data['first_name'] =$this->request->getPost('first_name', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
}else{            
    $data['first_name'] = $data['employee_data']['first_name'];
} 


You should run validation on all input fields first.

What did you Try? What did you Get? What did you Expect?

Joined CodeIgniter Community 2009.  ( Skype: insitfx )

You should run validation on all input fields first.

Thanks InsiteFX,
But that doesn't really make any sense.

If if($this->request->getPost()) does not recognise empty POSTed form inputs, how can i run validation ($this->validation->run())??

Or am I missing something :-) ?

If the field is optional, then you can add the permit_empty rule.

If the field is optional, then you can add the permit_empty rule.

Thanks Paul,

I really appreciate you comments, but how do i validate if I can't even get hold of the value, my issue isn't validation it is with the $this->request->getPost() statement.

Are we saying that when a form value is empty, ie

PHP Code:

<input type="text" name="first_name" value="" /> 


the statement

PHP Code:

if($this->request->getPost('first_name')) { .. 


is FALSE ???

Surely the value is "empty"!

And, if I then validate

PHP Code:

$this->request->getPost('first_name') 


my rules should validate against an empty value (like you suggested)?

Or, am I missing something???

Sorry to be a pain :-)

You should check for a POST request, and use the default values only for a GET request.

PHP Code:

if ($this->request->getMethod() === 'post') {
    $data['first_name'] = $this->request->getPost('first_name', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
} else {
    $data['first_name'] = $data['employee_data']['first_name'];
} 


You should check for a POST request, and use the default values only for a GET request.

PHP Code:

if ($this->request->getMethod() === 'post') {
    $data['first_name'] = $this->request->getPost('first_name', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
} else {
    $data['first_name'] = $data['employee_data']['first_name'];
} 


Many thanks,
I really appreciate your time and help.

So, I think we can conclude getPost() does not recognise empty form fields!