beforeValidation()

Signature

beforeValidation() — returns void

Available in: model Category: Callback Functions

Description

Registers method(s) that should be called before an object is validated.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
methods	string	no	—	Method name or list of method names that should be called when this callback event occurs in an object’s life cycle (can also be called with the method argument).

Examples

// 1. Register a single method to run before any validation
// In models/User.cfc
component extends="Model" {
    function config() {
        beforeValidation("normalizeEmail");
        validatesPresenceOf("email");
    }

    private function normalizeEmail() {
        this.email = LCase(Trim(this.email));
    }
}

// 2. Register multiple methods to run before validation using a comma-delimited list
// In models/Article.cfc
component extends="Model" {
    function config() {
        beforeValidation("stripTags,setSlug");
        validatesPresenceOf(properties="title,slug");
    }

    private function stripTags() {
        this.title = ReReplace(this.title, "<[^>]*>", "", "all");
    }

    private function setSlug() {
        if (!Len(this.slug)) {
            this.slug = LCase(ReReplace(Trim(this.title), "\s+", "-", "all"));
        }
    }
}

// 3. Register callbacks across multiple calls (they are stacked in order)
// In models/Product.cfc
component extends="Model" {
    function config() {
        beforeValidation("trimFields");
        beforeValidation("setDefaults");
    }

    private function trimFields() {
        this.name = Trim(this.name);
    }

    private function setDefaults() {
        if (!Len(this.status)) {
            this.status = "draft";
        }
    }
}