Validation rules¶

Supported data types¶

Valit provides validation rules for plenty different data types with full support for Nullable<T>. The supported data types are:

Boolean
Byte
DateTime
DateTimeOffset
Decimal
Double
Float
Guid
IEnumerable<T>
Int16
Int32
Int64
SByte
String
TimeSpan
UInt16
UInt32
UInt64

Available validation rules¶

Because of differences between particular data types, each one contains its own set of available validation rules. However, there are two general extensions which can be applied on any type you want:

Satisifies<T>(Predicate<T>) - checks whether given predicate returns true.
Required<T>() - checks whether given reference type is not null.

Below you can find the full list of available validation rules for supported data types.

Note

null either on validated property or given value always results rule returning false

Boolean¶

IsTrue(bool|bool?) - checks whether bool|bool? property is equal to true.
IsFalse(bool|bool?) - checks whether bool|bool? property is equal to false.
IsEqualTo(bool|bool?) - checks whether bool|bool? property is equal to given value.
Required() - checks whether bool? property is not null.

Byte¶

IsEqualTo(byte|byte?) - checks whether byte|byte? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(byte|byte?) - checks whether byte|byte? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(byte|byte?) - checks whether byte|byte? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(byte|byte?) - checks whether byte|byte? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(byte|byte?) - checks whether byte|byte? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether byte|byte? property is not a zero.
Required() - checks whether byte? property is not null.

DateTime¶

IsAfter(DateTime|DateTime?) - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is after (greater than) given value.
IsAfterOrSameAs(DateTime|DateTime?) - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is after or same as (greater than or equal to) given value.
IsAfterNow() - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is after (greater than) DateTime.Now.
IsAfterUtcNow() - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is after (greater than) DateTime.UtcNow.
IsBefore(DateTime|DateTime?) - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is before (less than) given value.
IsBeforeOrSameAs(DateTime|DateTime?) - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is before or same as (less than or equal to) given value.
IsBeforeNow() - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is before (less than) DateTime.Now.
IsBeforeUtcNow() - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is before (less than) DateTime.UtcNow.
IsSameAs(DateTime|DateTime?) - checks whether DateTime|DateTime? property is same as (equal to) given value.
Required() - checks whether DateTime? property is not null.

DateTimeOffset¶

IsAfter(DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset?) - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is after (greater than) given value.
IsAfterOrSameAs(DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset?) - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is after or same as (greater than or equal to) given value.
IsAfterNow() - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is after (greater than) DateTime.Now.
IsAfterUtcNow() - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is after (greater than) DateTime.UtcNow.
IsBefore(DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset?) - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is before (less than) given value.
IsBeforeOrSameAs(DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset?) - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is before or same as (less than or equal to) given value.
IsBeforeNow() - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is before (less than) DateTime.Now.
IsBeforeUtcNow() - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is before (less than) DateTime.UtcNow.
IsSameAs(DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset?) - checks whether DateTimeOffset|DateTimeOffset? property is same as (equal to) given value.
Required() - checks whether DateTimeOffset? property is not null.

Decimal¶

IsEqualTo(decimal|decimal?) - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(decimal|decimal?) - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(decimal|decimal?) - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(decimal|decimal?) - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(decimal|decimal?) - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether decimal|decimal? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether decimal? property is not null.

Double¶

IsEqualTo(double|double?) - checks whether double|double? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(double|double?) - checks whether double|double? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(double|double?) - checks whether double|double? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(double|double?) - checks whether double|double? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(double|double?) - checks whether double|double? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether double|double? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether double|double? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether double|double? property is positive (greater than zero).
IsNaN() - checks whether double|double? property is double.NaN.
IsNumber() - checks whether double|double? property is not double.NaN.
Required() - checks whether double? property is not null.

Float¶

IsEqualTo(float|float?) - checks whether float|float? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(float|float?) - checks whether float|float? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(float|float?) - checks whether float|float? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(float|float?) - checks whether float|float? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(float|float?) - checks whether float|float? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether float|float? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether float|float? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether float|float? property is positive (greater than zero).
IsNaN() - checks whether float|float? property is float.NaN.
IsNumber() - checks whether float|float? property is not float.NaN.
Required() - checks whether float? property is not null.

Guid¶

IsEqualTo(Guid|Guid?) - checks whether Guid|Guid? property is equal to given value.
IsNotEmpty() - checks whether Guid|Guid? property is not Guid.Empty.
Required() - checks whether Guid? property is not null.

IEnumerable<T>¶

MinItems(int) - checks whether collection contains at least given number of elements.
MaxItems(int) - checks whether collection contains at most given number of elements.

Int16¶

IsEqualTo(short|short?) - checks whether short|short? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(short|short?) - checks whether short|short? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(short|short?) - checks whether short|short? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(short|short?) - checks whether short|short? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(short|short?) - checks whether short|short? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether short|short? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether short|short? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether short|short? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether short? property is not null.

Int32¶

IsEqualTo(int|int?) - checks whether int|int? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(int|int?) - checks whether int|int? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(int|int?) - checks whether int|int? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(int|int?) - checks whether int|int? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(int|int?) - checks whether int|int? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether int|int? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether int|int? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether int|int? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether int? property is not null.

Int64¶

IsEqualTo(long|long?) - checks whether long|long? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(long|long?) - checks whether long|long? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(long|long?) - checks whether long|long? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(long|long?) - checks whether long|long? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(long|long?) - checks whether long|long? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether long|long? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether long|long? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether long|long? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether long? property is not null.

SByte¶

IsEqualTo(sbyte|sbyte?) - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(sbyte|sbyte?) - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(sbyte|sbyte?) - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(sbyte|sbyte?) - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(sbyte|sbyte?) - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether sbyte|sbyte? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether sbyte? property is not null.

String¶

Email() - checks whether string property is a correct email address.
IsEqualTo(string) - checks whether string property is equal to given value.
Matches(string) - checks whether string property matches given regex.
MinLength(int) - checks whether string property has at least given number of characters.
MaxLength(int) - checks whether string property has at most given number of characters.
Required() - checks whether string property is not null.

TimeSpan¶

IsEqualTo(TimeSpan|TimeSpan?) - checks whether TimeSpan|TimeSpan? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(TimeSpan|TimeSpan?) - checks whether TimeSpan|TimeSpan? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(TimeSpan|TimeSpan?) - checks whether TimeSpan|TimeSpan? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(TimeSpan|TimeSpan?) - checks whether TimeSpan|TimeSpan? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(TimeSpan|TimeSpan?) - checks whether TimeSpan|TimeSpan? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether TimeSpan|TimeSpan? property is not a zero.
Required() - checks whether TimeSpan? property is not null.

UInt16¶

IsEqualTo(ushort|ushort?) - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(ushort|ushort?) - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(ushort|ushort?) - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(ushort|ushort?) - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(ushort|ushort?) - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether ushort|ushort? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether ushort? property is not null.

UInt32¶

IsEqualTo(uint|uint?) - checks whether uint|uint? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(uint|uint?) - checks whether uint|uint? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(uint|uint?) - checks whether uint|uint? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(uint|uint?) - checks whether uint|uint? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(uint|uint?) - checks whether uint|uint? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether uint|uint? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether uint|uint? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether uint|uint? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether uint? property is not null.

UInt64¶

IsEqualTo(ulong|ulong?) - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is equal to given value.
IsGreaterThan(ulong|ulong?) - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is greater than given value.
IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(ulong|ulong?) - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is greater than or equal to given value.
IsLessThan(ulong|ulong?) - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is less than given value.
IsLessThanOrEqualTo(ulong|ulong?) - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is less than or equal to given value.
IsNonZero() - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is not a zero.
IsNegative() - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is negative (less than zero).
IsPositive() - checks whether ulong|ulong? property is positive (greater than zero).
Required() - checks whether ulong? property is not null.

Validating nested objects¶

Sometimes there could be need to validate nested objects. You can do this by creating IValitator (more details here). Let’s say we have the following model:

public class OrderModel
{
    public AddressModel Address { get; set; }
}

public class AddressModel
{
    public string City { get; set; }
    public string Street { get; set; }
}

We’d like to be sure that City and Street in our OrderModel are not null. To do that we have to create the following valitator:

public class AdressModelValitator : IValitator<AddressModel>
{
    public IValitResult Validate(AddressModel @object, IValitStrategy strategy = null)
        => ValitRules<AddressModel>
            .Create()
            .Ensure(am => am.City, _ => _
                .Required())
            .Ensure(am => am.City, _ => _
                .Required())
            .For(@object)
            .Validate();
}

Then we can validate our OrderModel using the created valitator:

void ValidateModel(OrderModel model)
{
    var result = ValitRules<OrderModel>
            .Create()
            .Ensure(m => m.Address, new AdressModelValitator())
            .For(model)
            .Validate();
}

Validating collections¶

Using Valit you can also easily validate collections. Let’s assume that you have following model:

public class ContactModel
{
    public IEnumerable<string> Emails { get; set; }
}

We’d like to check whether each item in Emails list is neither null nor string.Empty and is also valid email address. To validate collections use EnsureFor:

void Validate(ContactModel model)
{
    var result = ValitRules<ContactModel>
            .Create()
        .WithStrategy(picker => picker.FailFast)
        .EnsureFor(m => m.Emails, _=>_
            .Required()
            .WithMessage("Email list is empty")
            .Email()
            .WithMessage("Email list contains incorrect addresses"))
        .For(model)
        .Validate();
}

Conditional rules¶

In some cases there might be need to apply certain validation rules only if specific conditions are fulfilled. Valit allows you to do this using When() extension which can be applied on each rule. Let’s say we have the following model:

public class RegisterModel
{
    public string Email { get; set; }
    public string Password { get; set; }
    public string CompanyName { get; set; }
    public bool IsCompanyMember { get; set; }
}

We’d like CompanyName to be required only if the user belongs to some company (defined by IsCompanyMemeber). Of course, we could create two separate validators to handle both scenarios, but a lot of code would be duplicated. That’s where conditional rules come into play:

void ValidateModel(RegisterModel model)
{

    var result = ValitRules<RegisterModel>
        .Create()
        .Ensure(m => m.Email, _=>_
            .Required()
            .Email())
        .Ensure(m => m.Password, _=>_
            .Required()
            .MinLength(10))
        .Ensure(m => m.CompanyName, _=>_
            .Required()
                .When(m => m.IsCompanyMember))
        .For(model)
        .Validate();
}

Using When() we created simple validation condition which solves the issue.

Note

You can apply as much conditions as you want on each rule. If so, they will be merged into one condition using logical AND operator.

Tagging rules¶

Each validation rule can have its own set of tags. Tags are used for defining subset of rules that will be checked during the validation process. To add tags to the validation rule use Tag() extension. The code below presents the example usage:

public class RegisterModel
{
    public string Email { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }
}

void ValidateModel(RegisterModel model)
{
    IValitRules<RegisterModel> valitRules = ValitRules<RegisterModel>
        .Create()
        .Ensure(m => m.Email, _=>_
            .Required()
                .Tag("A")
            .Email()
                .Tag("A", "B"))
        .Ensure(m => m.Age, _=>_
            .IsGreaterThan(16)
                .Tag("B"))
        .For(model);

    IValitResult result1 = valitRules.Validate("A"); // Checks Required, Email
    IValitResult result2 = valitRules.Validate("B"); //Checks Email, IsGreaterThan
    IValitResult result3 = valitRules.Validate("A", "B"); //Checks all rules
}

As you see in the example above, instead of invoking the Validate() right after the For() method, we assigned the rules to the variable. Then, using the Validate() overload which accepts tags, we created three different validation processes. That gave as a lot of flexibility by creating one general set of validation rules instead of three separated. It is important that set of tags passed to the Validate() method defines that each rule must have at least one of them, NOT all.

Validate() method has also an overload which accepts Predicate<IValitRule<TModel>>:

var result1 = rules.Validate(rule => rule.Tags.Any(tag => tag == "A")); // Checks Required, Email

ValitRules<T> object also provides three methods for getting set of your validation rules. The methods are:

GetAllRules() - gets all rules.
GetTaggedRules() - gets rules which has at least one tag.
GetUntaggedRules() - gets rules with no tags.

Of course if you want to get rules with the specific tags, you can use Linq for that purpose like in the example below:

IEnumerable<IValitRule<RegisterModel>> rulesOnlyWithATag= ValitRules<RegisterModel>
    .Create()
    .Ensure(m => m.Email, _=>_
        .Required().Tag("A")
        .Email().Tag("B"))
    .GetTaggedRules()
        .Where(rule => rule.Tags.Contains("A")); // only Required method is selected

Having the set of rules, you can use them for instantiating new ValitRules<T> object using Create() method overload:

void ValidateModel(RegisterModel model, IEnumerable<IValitRule<RegisterModel>> rulesOnlyWithATag)
{
    IValitResult result = ValitRules<RegisterModel>
        .Create(rulesOnlyWithATag)
        .For(model)
        .Validate(); // validates the model using only Required rule on Email property
}