*

Wijdan Mohamed

12-B

DEFINITION:

*Validation is a way of trying to reduce the

number of errors in the data being entered into your system.

*It is the process of checking the data against

the set of validation rules which you set up when developing your new database or spreadsheet system.

2Complete
1Reasonable

Validation aims to make sure that the data is

4Within acceptable boundaries
3Sensible

Validation Check Range Check

Description Checks whether data is within given/acceptable values. Checks if the input data contains the required number of characters. Checks that the input data does not contain invalid characters. Checks that data is in a specific format.

Examples A persons age should be in the range > 0 but < 150.

Length Check

If a field needs six digits then inputting a five- or seven- digit, for example, should cause an error message. A persons name should not contain any numbers but a persons height should only contain digits. Date should be in the form dd/mm/yyyy

Character/Type Check

Format/Picture Check

Limit Check

Similar to range check except that only one of the limits (boundaries) is checked.

Input data must be > 10.

Validation Check Presence Check

Description Check if data is actually present and has not been missed out.

Examples In an electronic form, a persons telephone number may be a required field and f no data is present this should give rise to an error message. If Mr has been typed into a field called title then the gender field must contain either M or Male Check digits can identify three types of errors: If two digits have been inverted during input, e.g 13597 instead of 13579 An incorrect digit entered twice, e.g. 13559 typed instead of 13579 A digit missed out altogether, e.g. 1359 typed in instead of 13579.

Consistency Check

Check if fields correspond (tie up) with each other. Look at an extra digit which is calculated from the digits of a number and then put the end of the number.

Check Digit

* Once you collected some or all of your data you will

need to enter it into your system. point when you enter data.

* The validation is performed by the computer at the

* It is at this point where many different types of errors

can occur, coining the phrase;

* Basically if you enter data which contains mistakes and

errors then no matter how thorough or clever your queries are you will always get second rate, error laden results.

* Whenever data is manually entered into the system

there is a chance that an error will be made.

* If you enter Smyth instead of Smith (Transcription

error) or 07/08/07 instead of 08/07/07 (Transposition error) no amount of validation in the world will pick up that human error.

* So while validation can help to reduce the number

of errors when entering data, it cannot stop them be very clear about that.

Validation type

How it works the last one or two digits in a code are used to check the other digits are correct checks the data is in the right format checks the data isn't too short or too long looks up acceptable values in a table checks that data has been entered into a field checks that a value falls within the specified range

Example of usage bar code readers in supermarkets use check digits a National Insurance number is in the form LL 99 99 99 L where L is any letter and 9 is any number a password which needs to be six letters long there are only seven possible days of the week in most databases a key field cannot be left blank number of hours worked must be less than 50 and more than 0

Check digit

Format check

Length check Lookup table Presence check Range check

Spell check

looks up words in a dictionary

when word processing

* Validation is an automatic computer

check to ensure that the data entered is sensible and reasonable. It does not check the accuracy of data.

*
Good luck