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Introduction

Rest Generic Class provides a comprehensive set of custom validation rules designed for complex database validation scenarios commonly found in REST APIs. These rules extend Laravel’s built-in validation with specialized functionality for:
  • Database existence checks with complex conditions
  • Pivot table uniqueness validation
  • Bulk/array operation validation
  • Composite uniqueness constraints
  • Array size validation with custom messages

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Available Rules

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Existence Validation

Rules for validating that IDs exist in database tables with various conditions:

IdsExistInTable

Validate that IDs exist in a specific table

IdsExistNotDelete

Validate IDs exist and are not soft-deleted

IdsExistWithAnyStatus

Validate IDs exist with specific status values

IdsExistWithDateRange

Validate IDs exist within a date range

IdsWithCustomQuery

Validate IDs with a custom query callback

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Uniqueness Validation

Rules for ensuring data uniqueness in various contexts:

UniqueInPivot

Validate uniqueness in many-to-many relationships via pivot tables

UniqueInPivotArray

Bulk validation of pivot table uniqueness

UniqueCompositeInArray

Validate composite uniqueness for bulk operations

ArrayCount

Validate array element count with custom messages

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Common Patterns

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Database Connection

All database validation rules accept a connection parameter: 
use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Rules\IdsExistInTable;

'user_ids' => [
    'required',
    'array',
    new IdsExistInTable(
        connection: 'mysql',  // or config('database.default')
        table: 'users',
        column: 'id'
    ),
],

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Array vs Single Value

Most rules automatically handle both single values and arrays: 
// Single ID
'category_id' => ['required', new IdsExistInTable('mysql', 'categories')],

// Array of IDs
'category_ids' => ['required', 'array', new IdsExistInTable('mysql', 'categories')],

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Additional Conditions

Many rules support additional WHERE conditions: 
use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Rules\IdsExistInTable;

'product_ids' => [
    'required',
    'array',
    new IdsExistInTable(
        connection: 'mysql',
        table: 'products',
        column: 'id',
        additionalConditions: [
            'is_active' => true,
            'deleted_at' => null,
        ]
    ),
],

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Usage in FormRequests

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Basic Example

namespace App\Http\Requests;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;
use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Rules\IdsExistInTable;
use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Rules\UniqueInPivot;

class AssignRolesRequest extends FormRequest
{
    public function authorize(): bool
    {
        return true;
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'user_id' => [
                'required',
                'integer',
                new IdsExistInTable(
                    connection: config('database.default'),
                    table: 'users',
                    column: 'id'
                ),
            ],
            'role_ids' => [
                'required',
                'array',
                'min:1',
                new IdsExistInTable(
                    connection: config('database.default'),
                    table: 'roles',
                    column: 'id'
                ),
            ],
        ];
    }
}

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Advanced Example with Multiple Rules

namespace App\Http\Requests;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;
use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Rules\IdsExistNotDelete;
use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Rules\UniqueInPivotArray;
use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Rules\ArrayCount;

class BulkUpdateAddressesRequest extends FormRequest
{
    protected string $connection;

    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct();
        $this->connection = config('database.default');
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'addresses' => [
                'required',
                'array',
                new ArrayCount(
                    min: 1,
                    max: 10,
                    messages: [
                        'onMin' => 'Please provide at least one address.',
                        'onMax' => 'You can update a maximum of 10 addresses at once.',
                    ]
                ),
            ],
            'addresses.*.id' => [
                'required',
                'integer',
                new IdsExistNotDelete(
                    connection: $this->connection,
                    table: 'addresses',
                    column: 'id'
                ),
            ],
            'addresses.*.phone' => [
                'nullable',
                'string',
                'max:64',
                new UniqueInPivotArray(
                    connection: $this->connection,
                    mainTable: 'addresses',
                    pivotTable: 'user_addresses',
                    pivotForeignKey: 'address_id',
                    pivotOwnerKey: 'user_id',
                    ownerValue: auth()->id(),
                    column: 'phone',
                    arrayKey: 'addresses',
                    ignoreField: 'id'
                ),
            ],
        ];
    }
}

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Error Messages

All rules provide clear, actionable error messages: 
{
  "message": "The given data was invalid.",
  "errors": {
    "user_ids": [
      "The following IDs do not exist: 42, 99"
    ],
    "addresses.0.phone": [
      "The phone '+1-555-0001' at addresses[0] has already been taken."
    ]
  }
}

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Performance Considerations

All validation rules use efficient database queries with proper indexing support. Batch validations use single queries with whereIn clauses rather than multiple individual queries.

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Efficient Bulk Validation

// BAD: Multiple queries
foreach ($ids as $id) {
    // Laravel's built-in exists rule queries once per ID
    'id' => 'exists:users,id'
}

// GOOD: Single query
'ids' => [
    'array',
    new IdsExistInTable('mysql', 'users', 'id')
]
// Executes: SELECT id FROM users WHERE id IN (1, 2, 3, ...)

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Testing

Example test for custom validation rules: 
namespace Tests\Feature\Validation;

use Tests\TestCase;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
use App\Models\User;
use App\Models\Role;

class RoleAssignmentValidationTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

    public function test_validates_existing_user_ids()
    {
        $response = $this->postJson('/api/users/123/roles', [
            'role_ids' => [999], // Non-existent role
        ]);

        $response->assertStatus(422)
            ->assertJsonValidationErrors(['role_ids']);
    }

    public function test_accepts_valid_role_ids()
    {
        $user = User::factory()->create();
        $role = Role::factory()->create();

        $response = $this->postJson("/api/users/{$user->id}/roles", [
            'role_ids' => [$role->id],
        ]);

        $response->assertStatus(200);
    }
}

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Next Steps

ID Existence Rules

Learn about validating ID existence with various conditions

Uniqueness Rules

Explore pivot table and composite uniqueness validation

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