Which process ensures that a user’s input data is in a correct format before it is processed?

Input validation is the process that ensures a user's input data conforms to the required format before it is processed. This is crucial for maintaining the integrity and security of applications. By checking whether the data falls within acceptable parameters (such as data type, length, format, or range), input validation helps to prevent errors during processing and mitigates the risk of issues such as injections or unexpected behavior in the software.

In contrast, input sanitation typically involves cleaning the input data to remove or neutralize potentially harmful elements, but it does not necessarily check if the data is in the correct format. Data entry refers to the act of entering data into a system but does not imply any validation of that data, and error handling deals with managing errors that occur during the processing stage rather than ensuring input correctness beforehand. Therefore, input validation is the definitive process for verifying that data is appropriately formatted before it gets processed.