Manual: Construction-Validation

So ... you've got a several Database Tables and a bunch of "forms" on your Interactive Site where you can do data entry.... Sounds pretty good. But, should we spend any energy making sure that what the Users enter into the forms is legitimate????

YES!

Validation Mechanism

There are only two basic types of data that we need to be concerned with. RidgeStar thinks of them as:

Predefined elements

These are elements that exist on Site forms as Pulldowns, checkboxes, or radio buttons. It's impossible to set these elements to incorrect values from the Form. (It might, however, be possible to set inappropriate combinations, so additional validation may be needed in some cases.)

Open Text elements

These are input areas that allow a Visitor to enter an appropriate value, like an email address, date, time, and/or phone number.

Error Messages?

To illustrate how Open Text elements are edited and what the error messages look like, enter good or bad data elements in the boxes below and click "Validate":

Validation Demonstration
Date
Date Time
Email
Action

Data elements are verified and validated at the time that the User enters them. This ensures that anything stored into the database is, indeed, valid and usable the moment it reaches the database (this is important to making real-time systems effective).

Please let RidgeStar know exactly which elements in your database tables require editing. Most Chapters have at least one "specialized" editing requirement. In short, we can't edit for it if we don't know we're supposed to!