Putting Laravel Validation into a Controller

MyController.php

<?php namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;

use Input;
use Auth;
use View;
use Session;
use Validator;
use Redirect;
use Hash;
use App\User;

class MyController extends Controller {
  
  public function index()
  {
    return View::make( 'index' );
  }
  
  public function create()
  {
    return View::make( 'create' );
  }
  
  public function store()
  {
    // ...
  }
  
  public function edit( $id = null )
  {
    return View::make( 'edit', [ 'user' => Auth::user() ] );
  }
  
  public function update( $id = null )
  {
    // define validation rules, 'password' will be our custom rule
    $rules = [
      'first_name'       => 'required|max:255',
      'last_name'        => 'required|max:255',
      'email'            => 'required|email|max:255',
      'current_password' => 'required|password',
      'password'         => 'required|confirmed|min:6',
    ];
    
    // custom rule for 'password'
    Validator::extend('password', function( $attribute, $value, $parameters ) {
      // compare the entered password with what the database has, e.g. validates the current password
      return Hash::check( $value, Auth::user()->password );
    });
    
    // custom message if validation for password fails
    $messages = [ 'password' => 'Your current password does not match our records.' ];
    
    // validate input with rules, adding in custom messages
    $validation = Validator::make( Input::all(), $rules, $messages );
    
    // if validation fails, redirect back to previous page
    if ( $validation->fails() ) {
      return Redirect::back()->withInput()->withErrors( $validation->messages() );
    }
    
    // if we got to here, all is well
    
    // save changes to database here, e.g.
    User::find( Auth::user()->id )->update( Input::except(['current_password', 'password_confirmation']) );
    
    // redirect with success message
    return Redirect::back()->with( ['message' => 'Your account details were updated successfully.'] );
  }

}