CodeIgniter Views: A Complete Guide Part-1

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.

Why Use Views?

• Helps maintain a clean structure by separating logic from presentation.
• Enhances reusability as views can be included multiple times across different pages.
• Makes it easier to modify the UI without changing core business logic.
• Supports dynamic data rendering using PHP variables and loops.

How to Load a View?

Loading a view in CodeIgniter is simple. The view() function is used to include a view file within a controller.

public function index()
{
    return view('home');
}

This will load the home.php file located inside the app/Views/ directory.

Passing Data to Views

You can pass dynamic data from the controller to the view using an associative array.

public function profile()
{
    $data = ['name' => 'John Doe', 'email' => 'john@example.com'];
    return view('profile', $data);
}

Inside profile.php:

Name: <?= esc($name) ?>
Email: <?= esc($email) ?>

The esc() function is used for security to prevent XSS attacks.

Including Multiple Views

It is common to split the page into multiple views, such as header, content, and footer.

echo view('layout/header');
echo view('content');
echo view('layout/footer');

This approach keeps the project organized and allows reusability.

Using Alternative PHP Syntax in Views

CodeIgniter allows an alternative syntax for PHP control structures in views for better readability.

<?php if ($loggedIn): ?>
   <p>Welcome, user!</p>
<?php else: ?>
   <p>Please log in.</p>
<?php endif; ?>

This helps in writing cleaner templates without excessive PHP tags.

Conclusion

Views are a fundamental part of CodeIgniter’s MVC framework. They provide a structured way to manage the presentation layer by keeping it separate from the application’s logic. Understanding how to efficiently load, structure, and manage views can significantly improve the development process.

In the next section, we will explore View Renderer, which helps in rendering dynamic views with better control and optimization.