Invalid Form Submissions

In this video, we tackle the next critical part of the form experience—handling invalid submissions with grace. When a user submits a form with missing or incorrect data, we want to redirect them back, repopulate the form, and show helpful error messages. 💡

Here’s what we build in version v19-redirect-with-errors:


- Define the ideal usage:
- session()->invalid($errors)->redirect_back();
- Then… we make it real! 💥
- Introduce invalid() and redirect_back() methods in the Session class
- Store transient $old and $errors values to survive the redirect and improve UX ✨
- Refactor Session::old() into a more flexible Session::flash() and flash_message() pattern 🔁
- Improve the old($key, $default) helper to escape HTML using htmlspecialchars() for security 🛡️
- Add a validation_message() helper to display specific errors next to form fields
- Update the review form:
- Loosen validation so comment is optional
- Add hidden rating input with default of 0
- Test with extreme values (e.g., rating=10, long name) to confirm validation is triggered
- Clean up temporary debug outputs (like var_dump()) and finalize the flow ✅


This update makes your app smarter, friendlier, and much more user-friendly when things go wrong. A polished user experience, even on failure? Now that’s pragmatic. 🚀