Is there a way to use validators in controller functions?
Something like this:
name = request.vars.name
if name.IS_NOT_IN_DB(db, 'shops.name'):
db.shops.insert(name=name)
or
name = request.vars.name
if IS_NOT_IN_DB(name, (db, 'shops.name')):
db.shops.insert(name=name)

