repo_zf1/documentation/manual/en/module_specs/Zend_Validate-Hostname.xml

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<sect2 id="zend.validate.set.hostname">

    <title>Hostname</title>

    <para>
        <classname>Zend_Validate_Hostname</classname> allows you to validate a hostname against a set of known
        specifications. It is possible to check for three different types of hostnames: a DNS
        Hostname (i.e. domain.com), IP address (i.e. 1.2.3.4), and Local hostnames (i.e. localhost).
        By default only DNS hostnames are matched.
    </para>

    <para>
        <emphasis>Basic usage</emphasis>
    </para>

    <para>
        A basic example of usage is below:

        <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$validator = new Zend_Validate_Hostname();
if ($validator->isValid($hostname)) {
    // hostname appears to be valid
} else {
    // hostname is invalid; print the reasons
    foreach ($validator->getMessages() as $message) {
        echo "$message\n";
    }
}
]]></programlisting>

        This will match the hostname <varname>$hostname</varname> and on failure populate
        <methodname>getMessages()</methodname> with useful error messages.

    </para>

    <para>
        <emphasis>Validating different types of hostnames</emphasis>
    </para>

    <para>
        You may find you also want to match IP addresses, Local hostnames, or a combination of all
        allowed types. This can be done by passing a parameter to <classname>Zend_Validate_Hostname</classname> when you
        instantiate it. The parameter should be an integer which determines what types of hostnames
        are allowed. You are encouraged to use the <classname>Zend_Validate_Hostname</classname> constants to do this.
    </para>

    <para>
        The Zend_Validate_Hostname constants are: <constant>ALLOW_DNS</constant> to allow only DNS
        hostnames, <constant>ALLOW_IP</constant> to allow IP addresses, <constant>ALLOW_LOCAL</constant> to allow
        local network names, and <constant>ALLOW_ALL</constant> to allow all three types. To just check for
        IP addresses you can use the example below:
        <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$validator = new Zend_Validate_Hostname(Zend_Validate_Hostname::ALLOW_IP);
if ($validator->isValid($hostname)) {
    // hostname appears to be valid
} else {
    // hostname is invalid; print the reasons
    foreach ($validator->getMessages() as $message) {
        echo "$message\n";
    }
}
]]></programlisting>
    </para>

    <para>
        As well as using <constant>ALLOW_ALL</constant> to accept all hostnames types you can combine
        these types to allow for combinations. For example, to accept DNS and Local hostnames
        instantiate your Zend_Validate_Hostname object as so:
        <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$validator = new Zend_Validate_Hostname(Zend_Validate_Hostname::ALLOW_DNS |
                                        Zend_Validate_Hostname::ALLOW_IP);
]]></programlisting>

    </para>

    <para>
        <emphasis>Validating International Domains Names</emphasis>
    </para>

    <para>
        Some Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs), such as 'de' (Germany), support international
        characters in domain names. These are known as International Domain Names (IDN). These
        domains can be matched by <classname>Zend_Validate_Hostname</classname> via extended characters that are used in
        the validation process.
    </para>

    <para>
        Until now more than 50 ccTLDs support IDN domains.
    </para>

    <para>
        To match an IDN domain it's as simple as just using the standard Hostname validator since
        IDN matching is enabled by default. If you wish to disable IDN validation this can be done
        by either passing a parameter to the <classname>Zend_Validate_Hostname</classname>
        constructor or via the <methodname>setValidateIdn()</methodname> method.
    </para>

    <para>
        You can disable IDN validation by passing a second parameter to the Zend_Validate_Hostname
        constructor in the following way.

        <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$validator =
    new Zend_Validate_Hostname(
        array(
            'allow' => Zend_Validate_Hostname::ALLOW_DNS,
            'idn'   => false
        )
    );
]]></programlisting>

        Alternatively you can either pass <constant>TRUE</constant> or <constant>FALSE</constant> to
        <methodname>setValidateIdn()</methodname> to enable or disable IDN validation.
        If you are trying to match an IDN hostname which isn't currently supported it is likely
        it will fail validation if it has any international characters in it. Where a ccTLD file
        doesn't exist in Zend/Validate/Hostname specifying the additional characters a normal
        hostname validation is performed.
    </para>

    <para>
        Please note IDNs are only validated if you allow DNS hostnames to be validated.
    </para>

    <para>
        <emphasis>Validating Top Level Domains</emphasis>
    </para>

    <para>
        By default a hostname will be checked against a list of known TLDs. If this functionality
        is not required it can be disabled in much the same way as disabling IDN support. You can
        disable TLD validation by passing a third parameter to the Zend_Validate_Hostname
        constructor. In the example below we are supporting IDN validation via the second parameter.

        <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$validator =
    new Zend_Validate_Hostname(
        array(
            'allow' => Zend_Validate_Hostname::ALLOW_DNS,
            'idn'   => true,
            'tld'   => false
        )
    );
]]></programlisting>

        Alternatively you can either pass <constant>TRUE</constant> or <constant>FALSE</constant> to
        <methodname>setValidateTld()</methodname> to enable or disable TLD validation.
    </para>

    <para>
        Please note TLDs are only validated if you allow DNS hostnames to be validated.
    </para>

</sect2>
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