CodeIgniter Views: A Complete Guide Part -2

Introduction to Views in CodeIgniter

Views in CodeIgniter play a crucial role in separating business logic from the presentation layer. A view is essentially a file containing HTML, CSS, and sometimes JavaScript or PHP, which is responsible for displaying content to the user. It is loaded by the controller and can be reused across multiple pages, improving the maintainability of an application.

View Renderer

In CodeIgniter, the View Renderer provides more flexibility when loading views, allowing developers to pass data dynamically, customize responses, and manage view templates efficiently.

Rendering a View

The view() function is the primary method for rendering views. It takes the view file name and an optional data array.

public function index()
{
    $data = ['title' => 'Welcome Page'];
    return view('welcome_message', $data);
}
        

Returning Views as Strings

Instead of directly rendering a view, you can store it in a variable and return it later:

$renderer = service('renderer');
$output = $renderer->setData($data)->render('welcome_message');
echo $output;
        

Using View Cells

View Cells allow you to load reusable components dynamically, improving modularity.

echo view_cell('PostCell::latestPosts', ['limit' => 5]);
        

Using Template Layouts

To maintain a consistent structure, CodeIgniter supports template layouts.

extend('layouts/main'); ?>
section('content'); ?>
Welcome to My Website
endSection(); ?>
        

Passing Data to Views

You can pass dynamic data while rendering views:

$data = ['username' => 'John Doe'];
return view('user_profile', $data);
        

Conclusion

The View Renderer in CodeIgniter allows better control over view handling, making it easier to manage dynamic content efficiently.

Next, we will explore View Layouts in CodeIgniter and how they help maintain a structured application.