Separate 3rd party modules - codeigniter

Question

I going to start new Codeigniter application and trying to find a way to separate 3rd party modules source (for example Tank Auth) from my own code,
What i need is to setup a file tree like the following:
/project_root/
/system (framework system - done)
/3rd_party/
/dists/
/application/ (installed 3d party libraries/modules - the question topic)
/application/ ( my application - done)
/site/ (site root, working tree - done)
The /system /application /site done using index.php and application/config/config.php settings.
Is there any correct way to acheive the tree like above using configuration settings ? I new for Codeigniter and have no idea if such is even possible.

Answer 1

For a modular structure with Codeigniter, Modular Extensions - HMVC is the go-to solution:
https://bitbucket.org/wiredesignz/codeigniter-modular-extensions-hmvc
For your setup, you would add this to your config.php:
$config['modules_locations'] = array(
// absolute path relative path
APPPATH.'3rd_party/application/' => '../../3rd_party/application/',
);
/project_root/
/system
/3rd_party/
/dists/
/application/
tank_auth
my_module
some_other_third_party_code
/application/
/site/
The "relative path" is relative to any sub directory in your application root, like models, controllers, helpers, etc. For example in CI you can load a "model" from a "view" directory if you use:
$this->load->model('../views/some_model');
...not that's it's something you would normally do - but this is how HMVC's loader works. HVMC can be used to load anything CI normally can but from a "module" directory. You can have as many different modules or module paths as you want.
Modules can (but don't have to) load controller and act like their own mini-application. You can also load dependencies cross-module, or from the default application root.
You can still use your default application directory alongside modules. To specify that you want to load a particular asset from a module path, just include the module name in the path:
// Loads the "tank_auth" library (works from the tank_auth module)
$this->load->library('tank_auth');
// Loads the "tank_auth" library (works from anywhere in your application)
$this->load->library('tank_auth/tank_auth');
This works with models, helpers, etc. as well.
To access a controller in tank_auth/controllers/login you would use the URL http://example.com/tank_auth/login. You can also run a controller within another controller by using the modules::run() method, which could allow you to "wrap" controller methods of modules in your own logic without touching them:
class my_login extends MX_Controller {
function index() {
modules::run('tank_auth/login');
}
}
It's pretty well documented and has been around for years. I have used HMVC in nearly every Codeigniter project I've ever done, I highly recommend it.

Answer 2

The problem is that loader class , that loads the library with $this->load->library("path/to/module") is using hard-coded "library" as folder name (check the source of Loader.php) . So, in other words all your modules and libraries have to reside in library folder
/project_root/
/system (framework system - done)
/library/
/3rd_party/
/application/
and load them then with $this->load->library('3rd_party/application/tankh_auth.php)`
The only way to correct this (and not using library folder) is by overriding Loader class by writing your own. create Loader.php in your application folder , in specific - application/core by overriding library method
class My_Loader extends CI_Loader {
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
}
public function library($library = '', $params = NULL, $object_name = NULL){
//override this method with your custom loader code
//eg
include_once($filepath."/".$library); //where your $filepath is path to your library,
$this->_ci_loaded_files[] = $filepath;
return $this->_ci_init_class($class, '', $params, $object_name);
//again look at original methods and/or write your own by referencing those
}
}

Answer 3

You don't need to worry yourself with HMVC (Although it is great), and you don't need MY_Loader either.
I would read through http://ellislab.com/codeigniter/user-guide/libraries/loader.html - Namely the section on Application "Packages"
In here, you will see a method called
$this->load->add_package_path()
In which you can specify additional paths for the loader to look for you libraries.