Validation library can now use saved validation groups and custom error groups.

system/Language/en/Validation.php

@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ return [
 	// Core Messages
 	'noRuleSets' => 'No rulesets specified in Validation configuration.',
 	'ruleNotFound' => '{field} is not a valid rule.',
+    'groupNotFound' => '%s is not a validation rules group.',
+    'groupNotArray' => '%s rule group must be an array.',
 
 	// Rule Messages
 	'required' => 'The {field} field is required.',

system/Validation/Validation.php

@@ -50,6 +50,11 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 	 */
 	protected $customErrors = [];
 
+    /**
+     * @var \Config\Validation
+     */
+    protected $config;
+
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 	/**
@@ -60,6 +65,8 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 	public function __construct($config)
 	{
 		$this->ruleSetFiles = $config->ruleSets;
+
+        $this->config = $config;
 	}
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -79,6 +86,8 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 
 		$this->loadRuleSets();
 
+        $this->loadRuleGroup($group);
+
 		// Run through each rule. If we have any field set for
 		// this rule, then we need to run them through!
 		foreach ($this->rules as $rField => $ruleString)
@@ -118,6 +127,7 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 		foreach ($rules as $rule)
 		{
 			$callable = is_callable($rule);
+            $passed   = false;
 
 			// Rules can contain parameters: max_length[5]
 			$param = false;
@@ -130,7 +140,7 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 			// If it's a callable, call and and get out of here.
 			if ($callable)
 			{
-				$value = $param === false
+				$passed = $param === false
 					? $rule($value)
 					: $rule($value, $param, $data);
 			}
@@ -148,7 +158,7 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 
 					$found = true;
 
-					$value = $param === false
+					$passed = $param === false
 						? $set->$rule($value)
 						: $set->$rule($value, $param, $data);
 					break;
@@ -163,7 +173,7 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 			}
 
 			// Set the error message if we didn't survive.
-			if ($value === false)
+			if ($passed === false)
 			{
 				$this->errors[$field] = $this->getErrorMessage($rule, $field);
 
@@ -299,12 +309,53 @@ class Validation implements ValidationInterface
 
 		foreach ($this->ruleSetFiles as $file)
 		{
-			$this->ruleSetInstances[] = new $file;
+			$this->ruleSetInstances[] = new $file();
 		}
 	}
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+    /**
+     * Loads custom rule groups (if set) into the current rules.
+     *
+     * Rules can be pre-defined in Config\Validation and can
+     * be any name, but must all still be an array of the
+     * same format used with setRules(). Additionally, check
+     * for {group}_errors for an array of custom error messages.
+     *
+     * @param string|null $group
+     */
+    protected function loadRuleGroup(string $group = null)
+    {
+        if (empty($group))
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (! isset($this->config->$group))
+        {
+            throw new \InvalidArgumentException(sprintf(lang('Validation.groupNotFound'), $group));
+        }
+
+        if (! is_array($this->config->$group))
+        {
+            throw new \InvalidArgumentException(sprintf(lang('Validation.groupNotArray'), $group));
+        }
+
+        $this->rules = $this->config->$group;
+
+        // If {group}_errors exists in the config file,
+        // then override our custom errors with them.
+        $errorName = $group.'_errors';
+
+        if (isset($this->config->$errorName))
+        {
+            $this->customErrors = $this->config->$errorName;
+        }
+    }
+
+    //--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
 	// Errors

tests/system/Validation/ValidationTest.php

@@ -12,7 +12,15 @@ class ValidationTest extends \CIUnitTestCase
 	protected $config = [
 		'ruleSets' => [
 			\CodeIgniter\Validation\Rules::class,
-		]
+		],
+        'groupA' => [
+            'foo' => 'required|min_length[5]'
+        ],
+        'groupA_errors' => [
+            'foo' => [
+                'min_length' => 'Shame, shame. Too short.'
+            ]
+        ]
 	];
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -149,6 +157,32 @@ class ValidationTest extends \CIUnitTestCase
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+    public function testGroupsReadFromConfig()
+    {
+        $data = [
+            'foo' => 'bar'
+        ];
+
+        $this->assertFalse($this->validation->run($data, 'groupA'));
+        $this->assertEquals('Shame, shame. Too short.', $this->validation->getError('foo'));
+    }
+
+    //--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /**
+     * @group single
+     */
+    public function testGroupsReadFromConfigValid()
+    {
+        $data = [
+            'foo' => 'barsteps'
+        ];
+
+        $this->assertTrue($this->validation->run($data, 'groupA'));
+    }
+
+    //--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
 	// Rules Tests
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -1224,7 +1258,6 @@ class ValidationTest extends \CIUnitTestCase
 
 	/**
 	 * @dataProvider requiredWithoutProvider
-	 * @group single
 	 *
 	 * @param $check
 	 * @param $expected

user_guide_src/source/libraries/validation.rst

@@ -63,6 +63,62 @@ data to be validated::
     $validation->withRequest($this->request)
                ->run();
 
+
+**************************************************
+Saving Sets of Validation Rules to the Config File
+**************************************************
+
+A nice feature of the Validation class is that it permits you to store all
+your validation rules for your entire application in a config file. You organize
+the rules into "groups". You can specify a different group every time you run
+the validation.
+
+How to save your rules
+======================
+
+To store your validation rules, simply create a new public property in the ``Config\Validation``
+class with the name of your group. This element will hold an array with your validation
+rules. As shown earlier, the validation array will have this prototype::
+
+    class Validation
+    {
+        public $signup = [
+            'username'     => 'required',
+            'password'     => 'required',
+            'pass_confirm' => 'required|matches[password]',
+            'email'        => 'required|valid_email'
+        ];
+    }
+
+You can specify the group to use when you call the ``run()`` method::
+
+    $validation->run($data, $signup);
+
+You can also store custom error messages in this configuration file by naming the
+property the same as the group, and appended with ``_errors``. These will automatically
+be used for any errors when this group is used::
+
+    class Validation
+    {
+        public $signup = [
+            'username'     => 'required',
+            'password'     => 'required',
+            'pass_confirm' => 'required|matches[password]',
+            'email'        => 'required|valid_email'
+        ];
+
+        public $signup_errors = [
+            'username' => [
+                'required' => 'You must choose a username.',
+            ],
+            'email' => [
+                'valid_email' => 'Please check the Email field. It does not appear to be valid.'
+            ]
+        ]
+    }
+
+See below for details on the formatting of the array.
+
 *******************
 Working With Errors
 *******************