domain_name_validator 0.2 → 0.3

data/ChangeLog.md

@@ -1,14 +1,20 @@
-0.2 (2013-06-24)
+0.3 (2013-06-28)
 ----------------
 
-First version built and deployed as a gem on a real project, for general
-evaluation and testing purposes.
+* Added a check, because labels cannot begin with a period.
+* Updated documentation, plus defined Road Map for future changes.
+
+0.2 (2013-06-17)
+----------------
+
+First version built and deployed as a gem on a real project. Released on
+Rubygems.org for the first time.
 
 * Added more RSpec tests for improved test coverage.
 * Enhanced documentation.
 
 
-0.1 (2013-06-18)
+0.1 (2013-06-10)
 ----------------
 
 Initial working version of the code, with minimal RSpec tests. Released on

data/Gemfile.lock

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: .
   specs:
-    domain_name_validator (0.1)
+    domain_name_validator (0.3)
 
 GEM
   remote: http://rubygems.org/

data/README.md

@@ -2,7 +2,48 @@ domain_name_validator
 =====================
 
 Ever needed to validate a domain name? This gem will validate any domain name
-represented in ASCII or UTF-8.
+represented in ASCII.
+
+The scope of this gem is deliberately focused on validating domain names. It
+simply answers the question: "Is this a real domain name?" Using this command,
+you can make a realistic assessment about whether you want to store a domain
+name or URL in your database. This gem will tell you 1) that a domain is or
+is not valid, and 2) if it's not valid, what the errors are. 
+
+There are other gems and libraries that parse domain names into their various
+components, or parse URLS, or properly handle Unicode domain names, etc. Use
+them; many of them are very good at their well-defined roles. But none of the
+ones that I came across were very good at simply telling me whether a domain
+names was valid.
+
+How It Works
+------------
+
+To validate a domain name:
+
+    v = DomainNameValidator.new
+    if v.validate('keenertech.com')
+      # Do something
+    end
+
+What about error messages? If a domain isn't valid, it's often desirable to
+find out why the domain ewasn't valid. To do this, simply pass an array into
+the "validate" message as the optional second argument.
+
+    errs = []
+    v = DomainNameValidator.new
+    unless v.validate('keenertech.123', errs)
+      puts("Errors: #{errs.inspect}")
+    end
+
+This generates the following output:
+
+    Errors: ["The top-level domain (the extension) cannot be numerical"]
+
+This gem should make it easy to validate domain names.
+
+About Domain Names
+------------------
 
 Domain names provide a unique, memorizable name to represent numerically
 addressable Internet resources. They also provide a level of abstraction that
@@ -10,9 +51,9 @@ allows the underlying Internet address to be changed while still referencing
 a resource by its domain name. The domain name space is managed by the 
 Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
 
-The right-most label of a domain name is referred to as the top-level domain, or
-TLD. A limited set of top-level domain names, and two-character country codes,
-have been standardized. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
+The right-most label of a domain name is referred to as the top-level domain,
+or TLD. A limited set of top-level domain names, and two-character country
+codes, have been standardized. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
 maintains an annotated list of top-level domains, as well as a list of
 "special use," or reserved, top-level domain names.
 
@@ -21,20 +62,24 @@ maintains an annotated list of top-level domains, as well as a list of
 
 Domain names follow some very detailed rules:
 
-1. The maximum length of a domain name is 253 characters.
+* The maximum length of a domain name is 253 characters.
 
-2. A domain name is divided into "labels" separated by periods. The maximum
-   number of labels is 127.
+* A domain name is divided into "labels" separated by periods. The maximum
+  number of labels is 127.
 
-3. The maximum length of any label within a domain name is 63 characters.
+* The maximum length of any label within a domain name is 63 characters.
 
-4. No label, including TLDs, can begin or end with a dash.
+* No label, including TLDs, can begin or end with a dash.
 
-5. Top-level domain names cannot be all numeric.
+* Top-level domain names cannot be all numeric.
 
-6. The right-most label must be either a recognized TLD or a 2-letter country
-   code. The only exception is for international domain names, for which
-   TLD checking is currently bypassed.
+* The right-most label must be either a recognized TLD or a 2-letter country
+  code. The only exception is for international domain names, for which
+  TLD checking is currently bypassed.
+
+* Top-level domain names cannot be all numeric.
+
+* Domain names may not begin with a period.
 
 
 Internationalized Domain Names
@@ -57,6 +102,55 @@ size limit of 63 characters. In the absence of specific guidelines, and because
 I've never actually seen an overly long label, I have chosen to apply the limit
 irregardless of the presence of the "xn--" prefix within a label.
 
+Requirements
+------------
+
+This is a Ruby gem with no run-time dependencies on anything else. It's only
+been tested under Ruby 1.9.3, but it should be compatible with all versions of
+Ruby more recent than Ruby 1.8.6.
+
+Install
+-------
+
+Installation doesn't get much simpler than this:
+
+    gem install domain_name_validator
+
+Road Map
+--------
+
+More types of checks will be added as they are identified. Support for
+validating top-level domains is also in the works (it's a bit more complex
+than you might imagine).
+
+Alternative Gems
+----------------
+
+If this domain_name_validator gem does not suit your needs, here are a few 
+recommended gems that may provide you with the additional power (and
+complexity) that is deliberately absent from this highly focused gem:
+
+* domain_name - A full-featured gem for parsing/manipulating domain names.
+* ip_address - For everything you need to do with Ipv4 and Ipv6 addresses.
+
+
+Author
+------
+
+David Keener
+
+He's is a long-time Rubyist, with extensive experience both in the Internet
+startup world and government contracting. He is one of the founders of the
+RubyNation and DevIgnition conferences. He speaks often at technical
+conferences, and blogs regularly on Internet-related subjects at
+KeenerTech.com.
+
+Contributors
+------------
+
+Many thanks for the support of General Dynamics and the Department of
+Homeland Security (DHS).
+
 YOUR SUPPORT
 ------------
 

data/domain_name_validator.gemspec

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ require "domain_name_validator/version"
 Gem::Specification.new do |gem|
   gem.name        = "domain_name_validator"
   gem.version     = DomainNameValidator::VERSION
-  gem.date        = '2013-06-17'
+  gem.date        = '2013-06-28'
   gem.platform    = Gem::Platform::RUBY
   gem.authors     = ["David Keener"]
   gem.email       = ["dkeener@keenertech.com"]

data/lib/domain_name_validator/validator.rb

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # The purpose of this class is to provide a simple capability for validating
-# domain names represented in ASCII or UTF-8, a feature that seems to be
-# missing from other more wide-ranging domain-related gems.
+# domain names represented in ASCII, a feature that seems to be missing or
+# obscured in other more wide-ranging domain-related gems.
 
 class DomainNameValidator
 
@@ -9,14 +9,26 @@ class DomainNameValidator
   MAX_LEVELS = 127
   MIN_LEVELS = 2
 
-  ERR_MAX_DOMAIN_SIZE = 'Maximum domain length of 253 exceeded'
-  ERR_MAX_LABEL_SIZE = 'Maximum domain label length of 63 exceeded'
-  ERR_MAX_LEVEL_SIZE = 'Maximum domain level limit of 127 exceeded'
-  ERR_MIN_LEVEL_SIZE = 'Minimum domain level limit of 2 not achieved'
-  ERR_LABEL_DASH_BEGIN = 'No domain label may begin with a dash'
-  ERR_LABEL_DASH_END = 'No domain label may end with a dash'
-  ERR_TOP_NUMERICAL = 'The top-level domain (the extension) cannot be numerical'
-  ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARS = 'Domain label contains an illegal character'
+  ERRS = {
+    :max_domain_size =>
+       'Maximum domain length of 253 exceeded',
+    :max_label_size =>
+       'Maximum domain label length of 63 exceeded',
+    :max_level_size =>
+       'Maximum domain level limit of 127 exceeded',
+    :min_level_size =>
+       'Minimum domain level limit of 2 not achieved',
+    :label_dash_begin =>
+       'No domain label may begin with a dash',
+    :label_dash_end =>
+       'No domain label may end with a dash',
+    :top_numerical =>
+       'The top-level domain (the extension) cannot be numerical',
+    :illegal_chars =>
+       'Domain label contains an illegal character',
+    :illegal_start =>
+       'No domain name may start with a period'
+    }
 
   # Validates the proper formatting of a normalized domain name, i.e. - a
   # domain that is represented in ASCII. Thus, international domain names are
@@ -29,19 +41,21 @@ class DomainNameValidator
   # 3. The maximum length of any label within a domain name is 63 characters.
   # 4. No label, including top-level domains, can begin or end with a dash.
   # 5. Top-level names cannot be all numeric.
+  # 6. A domain name cannot begin with a period.
 
   def validate(dn, errs = [])
-    errs << ERR_MAX_DOMAIN_SIZE if dn.size > MAX_DOMAIN_LENGTH
+    errs << ERRS[:max_domain_size] if dn.size > MAX_DOMAIN_LENGTH
     parts = dn.split('.')
-    errs << ERR_MAX_LEVEL_SIZE if parts.size > MAX_LEVELS
-    errs << ERR_MIN_LEVEL_SIZE if parts.size < MIN_LEVELS
+    errs << ERRS[:max_level_size] if parts.size > MAX_LEVELS
+    errs << ERRS[:min_level_size] if parts.size < MIN_LEVELS
     parts.each do |p|
-      errs << ERR_MAX_LABEL_SIZE if p.size > MAX_LABEL_LENGTH
-      errs << ERR_LABEL_DASH_BEGIN if p[0] == '-'
-      errs << ERR_LABEL_DASH_END if p[-1] == '-'
-      errs << ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARS unless p.match(/^[a-z0-9\-\_]+$/)
+      errs << ERRS[:max_label_size] if p.size > MAX_LABEL_LENGTH
+      errs << ERRS[:label_dash_begin] if p[0] == '-'
+      errs << ERRS[:label_dash_end] if p[-1] == '-'
+      errs << ERRS[:illegal_chars] unless p.match(/^[a-z0-9\-\_]+$/)
     end
-    errs << ERR_TOP_NUMERICAL if parts.last.match(/^[0-9]+$/)
+    errs << ERRS[:top_numerical] if parts.last.match(/^[0-9]+$/)
+    errs << ERRS[:illegal_start] if parts.first[0] == '.'
 
     errs.size == 0   # TRUE if valid, FALSE otherwise
   end

data/lib/domain_name_validator/version.rb

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 class DomainNameValidator
-  VERSION = "0.2"
+  VERSION = "0.3"
 end

data/spec/domain_name_validator_spec.rb

@@ -47,11 +47,17 @@ describe DomainNameValidator do
       response = @validator.validate(domain)
       response.should be == false
     end
+
+    it 'should fail when a domain name begins with a period' do
+      domain = ".b.c.com"
+      response = @validator.validate(domain)
+      response.should be == false
+    end
   end
 
   describe 'Internationalized (normalized) domain names' do
 
-    it 'should fail when a TLD begins with a dash' do
+    it 'should pass when a normalized international domain name' do
       domain = "xn--kbenhavn-54.eu"
       response = @validator.validate(domain)
       response.should be == true

metadata

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 --- !ruby/object:Gem::Specification
 name: domain_name_validator
 version: !ruby/object:Gem::Version
-  version: '0.2'
+  version: '0.3'
   prerelease: 
 platform: ruby
 authors:
@@ -9,11 +9,11 @@ authors:
 autorequire: 
 bindir: bin
 cert_chain: []
-date: 2013-06-17 00:00:00.000000000 Z
+date: 2013-06-28 00:00:00.000000000 Z
 dependencies:
 - !ruby/object:Gem::Dependency
   name: rspec
-  requirement: &30848232 !ruby/object:Gem::Requirement
+  requirement: &31251708 !ruby/object:Gem::Requirement
     none: false
     requirements:
     - - ! '>='
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ dependencies:
         version: '0'
   type: :development
   prerelease: false
-  version_requirements: *30848232
+  version_requirements: *31251708
 description: Checks the validity of domain names.
 email:
 - dkeener@keenertech.com