Ruby on Rails- Making input required for a form

Question

I am trying to make this input in my search required to start a search. I tried :validate if there is input but that didn't work. Any suggestions?

<%= text_field_tag "location", params[:location], :placeholder => 'City, zipcode, or address' %>

Answer 1

In whatever model the location belongs to, try adding this syntax:

class whatever < ActiveRecord::Base    
  validates :location, presence: true
end

make sure that location is part of attar_accessible in your model.

Answer 2

change the syntax

<%= text_field_tag "location", "#{params[:location]}", :placeholder => 'City, zipcode, or address' {:required => true} %>

and add this to your model

validates :location, presence: true