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();

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

None

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.

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 Casey West's Email::Address 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.

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.