$asyncValidators Angular

Question

I am using Angular 1.3.* and I try to validate my form. It is within a ng-repeat. So I may obtain several input fields. I do not only require the field to be not empty, but also require the search to be successful when retrieving information from the backend.

I have this input field

                               <input type="text"
                               ng-model="user"
                               placeholder="username"
                               name="user{{$index}}"
                               typeahead="data as data.name for data in getUser($viewValue)"
                               typeahead-editable="false"
                               class="form-control"
                               autocomplete="off"
                               userValidator
                               required>
<div ng-if="myForm.$submitted" ng-messages="myForm.user{{$index}}.$error ">
                          <div ng-message="required">You need to type something</div>
                        </div>

                        <div ng-if="myForm.$submitted" ng-messages="myForm.user{{$index}}.$error">
                          <div ng-message="userValidator"> It seems that the entered user is           not a valid input</div>
                        </div>

here is my try for the backendCall

  .directive('userValidator',function($http,$q){
    return{
      require:'ngModel',
      link:function($scope,element,attrs,ngModel){
        ngModel.$asyncValidators.userAvailable=function(userInput){
          return $http.post('/user'+userInput)
            .then(function)????

        }
      }
    }
  });

Note, that I WANT the user to exist. I guess I'll have to make a backend call with asyncValidators. However, I do not seem to get it. A way for me to circumvent this would be to say that on ALL other $errors than "required", show the message "It seems that the entered user is not a valid input". How could I do a successful backend call and use it or alternatively, how can I make sure to show the other error message on all other occasions?

Answer 1

If the username exists then simply return true, if it does not exists simply reject with the message

.directive('userValidator',function($http,$q){
return{
  require:'ngModel',
  link:function($scope,element,attrs,ngModel){
    ngModel.$asyncValidators.userAvailable = function(modelValue , viewValue) {

     var userInput= modelValue || viewValue;
      return $http.post('/user'+userInput)
         .then(function() {
           //username exists, this means validation success
           return true;
         }, function() {
           //username does not exist, therefore this validation fails
           return $q.reject('selected username does not exists');
         });

      }
    }
  }
});

Answer 2

A Firebase example:

.directive('isAccountNameAvailable',[ 'FireRef', '$q', function( FireRef, $q){

return {
  require:'ngModel',
  scope:{
    profile:'=profile'
  },
  link:function($scope, element, attrs, ngModel){
    ngModel.$asyncValidators.isAccountNameAvailable = function(modelValue , viewValue) {
      var deferred  = $q.defer();

      var userInput = modelValue || viewValue;

      $q.all([
          FireRef.child('accountNames').child(userInput).once('value'),
          FireRef.child('users').child($scope.profile.$id).child('accountName').once('value')
        ])
        .then(function(snapshots){

          /*
           snapshots[0].val() is userID in accountNames path e.g accountNames/londonServicesLTD/userID
           snapshots[0].key() is accountName key in accountNames e.g accountNames/londonServicesLTD

           snapshots[1].val() is the current accountName value in user/userID/accountName e.g londonServicesLTD
           snapshots[1].key() is 'accountName' key in user/userID/
          */

          if(!snapshots[0].exists()){
            deferred.resolve(true);
          }else if(snapshots[0].val() === $scope.profile.$id){
            deferred.resolve(true);
          }else{
            deferred.reject(false);
          }

        },function(){
          deferred.reject(false);
        });

      return deferred.promise;
    }
  }
}

}])

html:

   <div class="form-group" ng-class="{'has-success has-feedback': (forms.profileDetails.$submitted && forms.profileDetails.accountName.$valid),'has-error has-feedback': (forms.profileDetails.$submitted && forms.profileDetails.accountName.$invalid) }">
    <label class="control-label">Account Name</label>
    <input type="text" name="accountName" ng-model="model.accountName" required ng-trim no-special-chars camel-case is-account-name-available profile="profile" class="form-control" placeholder="E.g. londonServicesLTD">
    <span ng-show="forms.profileDetails.$submitted" class="glyphicon form-control-feedback" ng-class="{'glyphicon-ok': (forms.profileDetails.accountName.$valid),'glyphicon-remove': ( forms.profileDetails.accountName.$invalid) }" aria-hidden="true"></span>
    <div data-ng-messages="forms.profileDetails.$submitted && forms.profileDetails.accountName.$error" class="help-block">
      <div data-ng-message="required">
        - The <b>account name</b> is required.
      </div>
      <div data-ng-message="noSpecialChars">
        - Not allowed to use special characters.
      </div>
      <div data-ng-message="isAccountNameAvailable">
        - The account name is not available.
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>