CodeIgniter

How to use CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter is a PHP framework that provides developers with a modular and easy-to-use toolkit to build web applications. Here are the steps you can follow to use CodeIgniter:

1. Download: The first step is to download CodeIgniter from its official website at https://codeigniter.com/. You can either download the latest version or choose an older one depending on your preferences.

2. Setup: Once you have downloaded CodeIgniter, extract the files and copy them to your web server's root directory. Then, configure the database settings by opening the

   application/config/database.php
   file and updating the relevant fields with your database details.

3. Create Controllers: Controllers handle user requests and interact with the models and views to generate responses. To create a controller in CodeIgniter, you need to create a new PHP file in the

   application/controllers/
   directory and define a class that extends the
   CI_Controller
   class. Within this class, you can define functions that correspond to the different URLs of your application, and write the logic for each function.

4. Create Models: Models interact with the database to retrieve or update data. To create a model in CodeIgniter, you need to create a new PHP file in the

   application/models/
   directory and define a class that extends the
   CI_Model
   class. Within this class, you can define functions that perform queries on the database and return results.

5. Create Views: Views display the data processed by the controllers and models. To create a view in CodeIgniter, you need to create a new PHP file in the

   application/views/
   directory and write HTML and PHP code to generate the page layout and content.

6. Define Routes: By default, CodeIgniter maps URLs to controller functions based on their names. However, you can define custom routes to specify alternative URL patterns and map them to different controllers and functions. To define a route, you need to open the

   application/config/routes.php
   file and add an entry to the
   $route
   array.

7. Test: Once you have created your controllers, models, views, and routes, you can test your application by navigating to its URL in a web browser. CodeIgniter should handle the request and generate the appropriate response based on the code you have written.

Overall, CodeIgniter provides a simple and elegant solution for building PHP web applications that follow the MVC architecture pattern. By following the steps outlined above, you can leverage CodeIgniter's features and build robust and scalable web applications in no time.