/ApexValidationRules

An Apex library for validating field values on SObject records, using configurable custom metadata types

Primary LanguageApexMIT LicenseMIT

Apex Validation Rules for Salesforce

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An Apex library for validating field values on SObject records, using configurable custom metadata types

  1. Create validation rules via RecordValidationRule__mdt custom metadata type
  2. Call RecordValidator class in your Apex code or call FlowRecordValidator in your Flow to validate the your records pass your validation rules

This is useful in scenarios where standard validation rules cannot be used

  1. On-demand validation: standard validation rules only run on during DML statements. Apex Validation Rules can be executed at any point in your code.

  2. Apex-only contexts: standard validation rules cannot run in some contexts, such as "after delete" trigger contexts or after workflow field updates/approval processes.

  3. Apex-only contexts: standard validation rules cannot run in some contexts, such as "after delete" trigger contexts or after workflow field updates/approval processes

Examples

Simple Apex Example: Validating Account Name

As a simple example, you can setup a custom rule to validate that an Account record does not have the name 'Some Account'. This is configured with:

  • Creating 1 rule in RecordValidationRule__mdt
  • Creating 1 condition in RecordValidationRuleCondition__mdt and relating it to the parent rule
  • Calling the RecordValidator class within Apex, which leverages the custom metadata records

This screenshot shows what the rule & condition look like once they've been configured

Example Validation Rule: Account Name

Once the rule & condition have been setup, you can then call the Apex class to validate the record. In this case, the Apex is using the name 'Some Account', which is not allowed based on how the rule & condition have been setup

    Account someAccount = new Account(Name = 'Some Account');
    new RecordValidator(someAccount).validate();

When you run new RecordValidator(someAccount).validate();, it will throw an exception to indicate that the Account is not valid based on the configured rule.

Example Validation Rule: Account Name Exception

If you want to simply see if a record has any validation errors (but you don't want to throw an exception), you can use the getResults() method like this:

    Account someAccount = new Account(Name = 'Some Account');
    Boolean shouldThrowAnException = false;
    List<RecordValidator.ValidationRuleResult> results = new RecordValidator(someAccount).validate(shouldThrowAnException);

    // For each returned result, show the result details - in this particular example, there will be only 1 result
    for (RecordValidator.ValidationRuleResult result : results) {
        System.debug('result.hasError==' + result.hasError);
        System.debug('result.errorMessage==' + result.errorMessage);
        System.debug('result.conditions==' + result.conditions);
        System.debug('result.conditionsLogic==' + result.conditionsLogic);
        System.debug('result.conditionsLogicType==' + result.conditionsLogic);
    }

Complex Apex Example: Validating Multiple Fields on Account

You can also setup multiple conditions for a rule, using 1 of 3 types of logic (similar to setting up custom conditions for list views, reports and other standard functionality within Salesforce)

  1. AND: all conditions must be met
  2. OR: any conditions can be met
  3. Custom: you can write your own complex logic, such as (1 AND (2 OR 3)) - the RecordValidator class will automagically parse your conditions based on the sort order you specify for each condition (stored in the field RecordValidationRuleCondition__mdt.SortOrder__c)

In this example, custom logic is used to validate that the fields AccountNumber and Site are populated when AccountSource == 'Web'

Example Validation Rule: Multiple Account Fields

    Account someAccount = new Account(Name = 'My New Account', Type = 'Web');
    new RecordValidator(someAccount).validate();

When you run new RecordValidator(someAccount).validate();, it will throw an exception to indicate that the Account is not valid based on the configured rule.

Example Validation Rule: Multiple Account Fields

Same thing applies here: you can simply call getResults() instead of validate() if you want to see the results (instead of throwing an exception).

    Account someAccount = new Account(Name = 'My New Account', Type = 'Web');
    Boolean shouldThrowAnException = false;
    List<RecordValidator.ValidationRuleResult> results = new RecordValidator(someAccount).validate(shouldThrowAnException);

    // For each returned result, show the result details - in this particular example, there will be only 1 result
    for (RecordValidator.ValidationRuleResult result : results) {
        System.debug('result.hasError==' + result.hasError);
        System.debug('result.errorMessage==' + result.errorMessage);
        System.debug('result.conditions==' + result.conditions);
        System.debug('result.conditionsLogic==' + result.conditionsLogic);
        System.debug('result.conditionsLogicType==' + result.conditionsLogic);
    }