oracular (3) Data::Validate::Email.3pm.gz
NAME
Data::Validate::Email - common email validation methods
SYNOPSIS
use Data::Validate::Email qw(is_email is_email_rfc822);
if(is_email($suspect)){
print "Looks like an email address\n";
} elsif(is_email_rfc822($suspect)){
print "Doesn't much look like an email address, but passes rfc822\n";
} else {
print "Not an email address\n";
}
# or as an object
my $v = Data::Validate::Email->new();
die "not an email" unless ($v->is_email('foo'));
DESCRIPTION
This module collects common email validation routines to make input validation, and untainting easier and
more readable.
All functions return an untainted value if the test passes, and undef if it fails. This means that you
should always check for a defined status explicitly. Don't assume the return will be true. (e.g.
is_username('0'))
The value to test is always the first (and often only) argument.
FUNCTIONS
new - constructor for OO usage
new([\%opts]);
Description
Returns a Data::Validator::Email object. This lets you access all the validator function calls
as methods without importing them into your namespace or using the clumsy
Data::Validate::Email::function_name() format.
Arguments
An optional hash reference is retained and passed on to other function calls in the
Data::Validate module series. This module does not utilize the extra data, but some child calls
do. See Data::Validate::Domain for an example.
Returns
Returns a Data::Validate::Email object
is_email - is the value a well-formed email address?
is_email($value);
Description
Returns the untainted address if the test value appears to be a well-formed email address. This
method tries to match real-world addresses, rather than trying to support everything that rfc822
allows. (see is_email_rfc822 if you want the more permissive behavior.)
In short, it pretty much looks for something@something.tld. It does not understand real names
("bob smith" <bsmith@test.com>), or other comments. It will not accept partially-qualified
addresses ('bob', or 'bob@machine')
Arguments
$value
The potential address to test.
Returns
Returns the untainted address on success, undef on failure.
Notes, Exceptions, & Bugs
This function does not make any attempt to check whether an address is genuinely deliverable. It
only looks to see that the format is email-like.
The function accepts an optional hash reference as a second argument to change the validation
behavior. It is passed on unchanged to Neil Neely's Data::Validate::Domain::is_domain()
function. See that module's documentation for legal values.
is_email_rfc822 - does the value look like an RFC 822 address?
is_email_rfc822($value);
Description
Returns the untainted address if the test value appears to be a well-formed email address
according to RFC822. Note that the standard allows for a wide variety of address formats,
including ones with real names and comments.
In most cases you probably want to use is_email() instead. This one will accept things that you
probably aren't expecting ('foo@bar', for example.)
Arguments
$value
The potential address to test.
Returns
Returns the untainted address on success, undef on failure.
Notes, Exceptions, & Bugs
This check uses Email::Address::XS module to do its validation.
The function does not make any attempt to check whether an address is genuinely deliverable. It
only looks to see that the format is email-like.
is_domain - does the value look like a domain name?
is_domain($value);
Description
Returns the untainted domain if the test value appears to be a well-formed domain name. This
test uses the same logic as is_email(), rather than the somewhat more permissive pattern
specified by RFC822.
Arguments
$value
The potential domain to test.
Returns
Returns the untainted domain on success, undef on failure.
Notes, Exceptions, & Bugs
The function does not make any attempt to check whether a domain is actually exists. It only
looks to see that the format is appropriate.
As of version 0.03, this is a direct pass-through to Neil Neely's
Data::Validate::Domain::is_domain() function.
The function accepts an optional hash reference as a second argument to change the validation
behavior. It is passed on unchanged to Neil Neely's Data::Validate::Domain::is_domain()
function. See that module's documentation for legal values.
is_username - does the value look like a username?
is_username($value);
Description
Returns the untainted username if the test value appears to be a well-formed username. More
specifically, it tests to see if the value is legal as the username component of an email address
as defined by is_email(). Note that this definition is more restrictive than the one in RFC822.
Arguments
$value
The potential username to test.
Returns
Returns the untainted username on success, undef on failure.
Notes, Exceptions, & Bugs
The function does not make any attempt to check whether a username actually exists on your
system. It only looks to see that the format is appropriate.
AUTHOR
Richard Sonnen <sonnen@richardsonnen.com>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2004 Richard Sonnen. All rights reserved.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl
itself.