Codeigniter Dynamically load controller depending on url (outside routes.php) - codeigniter

using CodeIgniter normally one has to specify the controllers in the config/routes.php file.
This is not to handy, so I would like to be able to do something like this in a controller.
get url parts and check if the first part is specified in an array
if so, load the specified controller, if not, load default controller.
It basically mimics the behavior of the routes file, but there is no need to specify the wildcards before. I am using a base controller I extend with every controller, but I would like to have this controller just load (or include) the needed controller.
Does anyone have any idea how I can do this in a good way?
Thanks in advance.
// Edit
Okay, so here is my scenario.
I have cms and users can choose to include modules (e.g. a gallery).
I need to inlcude all the gallery php scripts without having to have "gallery" in the url.
I figured it would work if I use a "main controller" which loads another controller depending on the modules chosen. I realize this might not be the best way, so if there is a "clean" way to do it, please tell me.
As far as I know models are just for database stuff, so putting a whole gallery in there is not right either. The Plugin itself will of course be a library, but there is going to be some code to load the libs depending on the demands, get the database data, etc.
Thanks

The way you're doing this is incorrect. You never should take over the routing function to do this. What you need is to use some kind of module functionality to include the required methods and models; a module doesn't require to have route-accessible methods, so it's basically a "library" with a model and views.
If I remember correctly there are several plugins that provide this, One was HMVC (google it).
The ideal form would be to load the "Module" on demand from your controller, like you do with the core CodeIgniter Libraries; so lets say you're inside the blog controller action and you want to include the comment module which is used on gallery and on images, you just include the module and call it's methods to get the data which you can then pass to the view as needed; you can even render partials and store them into a variable to pass to your master controller.
Hope this is enough to get you on the right track :)

I may be misunderstanding your question but you want to load your controllers if you go to them and if not you want to go to your default.
If I am understanding correctly you can do a couple things in your routes have a route that takes everything to your default controller.
In your controller have an array of all your controllers then implode the array to a regular expression
$array = [c1, c2, c3, c4];
$str = implode('|', $array);
$regex = "($str)"
now just add your regex to a route
now redirect as you see fit.
But this is really what the routes file is for you you are just dancing around something that should be used.

Related

Basic on Codeigniter controller

I am new in codeigniter framework.I have some question.When we write some controller class then we call constructor.I am loading some library and some helper.I want to know what is the perfect way for loading this helper and library under construct class or under other functions.If i load everything in construct class then what is the disadvantages for it?if i use more controller class for one project then it is good or bad.Like i want to use some controller class for ajax functionalities,some for form submission,some for other sector.My english is not so good.Please help me.
For common libraries and helpers used by all functions of your controller try to load it in constructor or autoload. Except that for specific libraries e.g. payment gateway load inside the function.
How you use or how many controllers you are using depends upon your needs. But I would suggest you to build separate controllers for separate functions. Like admin for admin functions, users for user related functions, and so on. It build a user friendly URL too.
Well! everything depends on your requirements.
If you need any library , model or helper globally you can autoload it autoload.php.
It means the loading will be done on each request.
if you need any library , model or helper throughout your controller methods you can load them in constructor.
It means loading will be done on each method of controller.
if you need any library , model or helper for specific method you can load them in method.
It means loading will be done in method only.
For example let suppose you nees session and database library throughout your application so you can autoload it.
For a specific controller you need priviliges library so load it in constructor.
For email you need to send load email library in function.
These are only examples. You can explore SO to find more.
Loading takes time and performance. Not noticeable time by human standards, but time regardless. In order to cut of some slack to your server in the future, you do it a favor by only loading whatever is it you require for each page/controller method.
Used (almost) always
You can use application/config/autoload.php for things you almost always use. I usually include the helper url here.
Used (almost) always inside specific controller
Load it inside controller __construct. Don't forget to include parent::__construct();.
Used inside specific page
Load it inside method/function.
Used inside specific function
Load it at beginning or inside if-statement in function. You can load it numerous of times, it will only execute first time.

Which is better in codeigniter? Adding a function in a helper or adding a function in an extended base class

In a codeigniter project i have to do some set of stuff in one than one controller.
I code all that stuff in a function and now i need to call whenever necessary.
i think Writing this function in more than one controller is not good.
i have 2 options,
create a helper and write these function in that and include the helper in necessary controllers.
Since i have extended CI base controller (My_Controller) and most of my controllers are extended that controller, i can write this function to my base controller also.
I have confused which one is better, right way?
Which one will speed up the process?
Is the second way slows the site?
They are identical for all intents and purposes.
Using a helper allows you to make the code portable, so you can use it in other projects, or to be called from anywhere in the code base, in the case of a formatting function for example
If you were planning to put it in a controller, then MY_Controller is best bet
Just to help you on you endeavor what i do is: (this is just me)
If i need to use something in the views, i use a helper a custom one or built in.
If i want to do something on a controller that other controller will be using too and don't want it to mess up or crowd my controller i use a library (pretty much you can use a helper but i chose to use a library)
If i want to load lets say a method, to affect Globally or some of the controller i use the base controller. (you could also use helper or library)
The key is you are not restricted to one, choose the best that suits you, as the saying goes, there are many ways to skin a cat, but please don't skin a cat..

Codeigniter Include .php files through controller

Is there a way to dynamically include files through the controller, just as you would do include('path_to_file').
The only advice I've gotten was to define it like
$data = array('var'=>'path1','var2'=>'path2');
and pass it through the load view, but this doesn't load the files, so I'm basically back where I started.
Like Repox said, you should follow the MVC structure. Generally, if you plan to include classes (functionality), use models; if you want to include presentation (html), use views. And all this should be done from a controller. For example:
$this->load->model('my_functions');
$this->my_functions->do_something();
$this->load->view('header');
$this->load->view('content');
$this->load->view('footer');
If you really need it, you can also call models and views from a view.
Hope this clears it up a bit.
Short answer - no.
A more detailed answer would be providing you with details on how to use the MVC correctly.
Splitting up the file you wan't to include into models, views and controllers would be the correct thing to do. That is 'the dynamic way to include files' in CI.

Codeigniter Inter Controller Communication

I am new to MVC, CodeIginter. Instead of getting things easy, it needs lot of code to be written for a simple application. These are might be happening becouse I am new. So I have few confusions about this thing. Any kind of help is appreciated.
1) Methods are written in one controller can not be accessed in another controller classes. I have to write a new function for the same functionality.
2) To create website administration panel (back-end) in none mvc panel, we usually create it in a new folder. Is this thing possible in CodeIgniter? If not what about the admin (back-end)??
Let's try to clear some of your doubts about this.
1) Calling a controller's method from another controller is not possible, and it's whtouth meaning by the way.
A controller is supposed to get an action from the URL (which is routed by CI to the right controller for the task) and, based on that, decide which Model and which model's method needs be called to elaborate the data requested.
The model, then, hands back the result of this elaboration to the controller, which , in turns, decides to which view pass this results.
The view, eventually, is structured to get those datas and display them.
SO, as you can see, calling a controllers' method from another controller is nonsense, it would be like going to a page and finding another one instead; if you want to pass to another controller the request...well, there's the redirect for that.
If you find out you have the same functionalities in several moment, think twice:
What is a funcionality? Do you mean somehtin like "display posts" in controller "archive" and "display posts" in controller "news" ? they're hardly the same functionality; they can maybe share views, or models, but that's it.
For functions that doesn't relate to URLs, but involve some further elaboration (which might be wrong to do in Models) and are nonetheless called in a controller, you have library instead. Think at the "form_validation" library, which is called in a controller's method, but has its own peculiar (and encapsulated) functionalies. Ora a "session" library, or an "authentication" library
2) To create an admin panel the easiest thing is: create an "admin" controller (which is accesible then to www.mysite.com/index.php/admin), and put all the administration actions there, in its methods: create_page(), edit_page(), manage_users(), whatever.
In order to avoid people accessing it freely you need to build an authentication system, which, in its simplest and barabone strucutre, might be a check of wheter a session is set or not (maybe a check done at __construct() time).
But you can find nice Auth libraries out there already made, such as Ion Auth or Tank Auth (the 2 most popular to my knowledge)
Hope things are a bit clearer now. See also Interstellar_Coder's comment at this answer if you're interested in the modular HMVC approach.
1) Methods are written in one controller can not be accessed in another controller classes. I have to write a new function for the same functionality.
What's the functionality about? Perhaps you should write a library/helper instead, controller's logic should be limited to request flow or something else but not too complicated. For that, put the functionality in the model, or if more general, in library/helper.
2) To create website administration panel (back-end) in none mvc panel, we usually create it in a new folder. Is this thing possible in CodeIgniter? If not what about the admin (back-end)??
I don't get it, could you elaborate more?

Codeigniter MVC controller architecture

I'm building a site using CodeIgniter that largely consists of static content (although there will be a relatively small CMS backend, and there's code to handle localization/internationalization based on the domain used to access it). Typically, in a situation like this, I'd use a Pages controller that is in charge of rendering static content, but as there are a fair number of pages on the site (30+) it'd quickly end up containing lots of methods (assuming one per page).
Should I break my Pages controller into multiple controllers (that perhaps inherit from it) according to different sections of the site? Should I organize methods differently in the Pages controller? What's the best practice here?
Thanks!
Justin
I'd say split your controller into multiple. Not only it becomes easier to find whatever you need to work on in the file, probably there is a relation between the methods that "belong" to the same section. The end result is a more organized project,
Alternatively, why not have one single method that serves a static page, and work out which page to serve based on url ($id)? You'd have to play with CI routes a bit, in order to still have "site.com/pages/static_page_x" instead of "site.com/pages/view/static_page_x", but if you have a consistent way of accessing your static pages, it would save some typing, give you a way of adding new pages without touching the controller code, and might also come in handy if you want to apply to all the static pages something that you didn't think you'd need before.
Why dont you try to use a helper to detect your URL with the base_url() method and then process it. set a session variable to define the language in the controller...

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