we need to use some kind of external library or custom code to add validation rules, which will enable us to add validation classes to form. I don't think there is other way around.
Example:
http://jsfiddle.net/mapb_1990/hTPY7/9/
HTML:
<form>
<div class="form-group">
<label class="control-label" for="firstname">Nome:</label>
<div class="input-group">
<span class="input-group-addon">$</span>
<input class="form-control" placeholder="Insira o seu nome próprio" name="firstname" type="text" />
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
<label class="control-label" for="lastname">Apelido:</label>
<div class="input-group">
<span class="input-group-addon">€</span>
<input class="form-control" placeholder="Insira o seu apelido" name="lastname" type="text" />
</div>
</div>
<button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Submit</button>
</form>
JS:
$('form').validate({
rules: {
firstname: {
minlength: 3,
maxlength: 15,
required: true
},
lastname: {
minlength: 3,
maxlength: 15,
required: true
}
},
highlight: function(element) {
$(element).closest('.form-group').addClass('has-error');
},
unhighlight: function(element) {
$(element).closest('.form-group').removeClass('has-error');
},
errorElement: 'span',
errorClass: 'help-block',
errorPlacement: function(error, element) {
if(element.parent('.input-group').length) {
error.insertAfter(element.parent());
} else {
error.insertAfter(element);
}
}
});