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Derek Allard404e35d2007-08-07 01:00:45 +00005<title>CodeIgniter User Guide : Views</title>
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Derek Allard39b622d2008-01-16 21:10:09 +000031<td><h1>CodeIgniter User Guide Version 1.6.0</h1></td>
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57
58<h1>Views</h1>
59
60<p>A <dfn>view</dfn> is simply a web page, or a page fragment, like a header, footer, sidebar, etc.
admine334c472006-10-21 19:44:22 +000061In fact, views can flexibly be embedded within other views (within other views, etc., etc.) if you need this type
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +000062of hierarchy.</p>
63
64<p>Views are never called directly, they must be loaded by a <a href="controllers.html">controller</a>. Remember that in an MVC framework, the Controller acts as the
admine334c472006-10-21 19:44:22 +000065traffic cop, so it is responsible for fetching a particular view. If you have not read the <a href="controllers.html">Controllers</a> page
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +000066you should do so before continuing.</p>
67
68<p>Using the example controller you created in the <a href="controllers.html">controller</a> page, let's add a view to it.</p>
69
70<h2>Creating a View</h2>
71
72<p>Using your text editor, create a file called <dfn>blogview.php</dfn>, and put this in it:</p>
73
74<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="10">
Derek Allardc6441282007-07-04 23:54:32 +000075&lt;html>
76&lt;head>
77&lt;title>My Blog&lt;/title>
78&lt;/head>
79&lt;body>
80 &lt;h1>Welcome to my Blog!&lt;/h1>
81&lt;/body>
82&lt;/html>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +000083</textarea>
84
85<p>Then save the file in your <dfn>application/views/</dfn> folder.</p>
86
87<h2>Loading a View</h2>
88
89<p>To load a particular view file you will use the following function:</p>
90
91<code>$this->load->view('<var>name</var>');</code>
92
admin108d18a2006-09-02 17:45:38 +000093<p>Where <var>name</var> is the name of your view file. Note: The .php file extension does not need to be specified unless you use something other then <kbd>.php</kbd>.</p>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +000094
Rick Ellis325197e2006-11-20 17:29:05 +000095
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +000096<p>Now, open the controller file you made earlier called <dfn>blog.php</dfn>, and replace the echo statement with the view loading function:</p>
97
98
99<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="10">
100<?php
101class Blog extends Controller {
102
103 function index()
104 {
105 $this->load->view('blogview');
106 }
107}
108?>
109</textarea>
110
111
112<p>If you visit the your site using the URL you did earlier you should see your new view. The URL was similar to this:</p>
113
114<code>www.your-site.com/index.php/<var>blog</var>/</code>
115
Rick Ellis325197e2006-11-20 17:29:05 +0000116<h2>Storing Views within Sub-folders</h2>
117
118<p>Your view files can also be stored within sub-folders if you prefer that type of organization. When doing so you will need
119to include the folder name loading the view. Example:</p>
120
121<code>$this->load->view('<kbd>folder_name</kbd>/<var>file_name</var>');</code>
122
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000123
124<h2>Adding Dynamic Data to the View</h2>
125
admine334c472006-10-21 19:44:22 +0000126<p>Data is passed from the controller to the view by way of an <strong>array</strong> or an <strong>object</strong> in the second
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000127parameter of the view loading function. Here is an example using an array:</p>
128
129<code>$data = array(<br />
130&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;'title' => 'My Title',<br />
Rick Ellis0cb34042007-03-23 21:02:11 +0000131&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;'heading' => 'My Heading',<br />
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000132&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;'message' => 'My Message'<br />
133&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;);<br />
134<br />
135$this->load->view('blogview', <var>$data</var>);</code>
136
137<p>And here's an example using an object:</p>
138
139<code>$data = new Someclass();<br />
140$this->load->view('blogview', <var>$data</var>);</code>
141
142<p>Note: If you use an object, the class variables will be turned into array elements.</p>
143
144
145<p>Let's try it with your controller file. Open it add this code:</p>
146
147<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="14">
148<?php
149class Blog extends Controller {
150
151 function index()
152 {
153 $data['title'] = "My Real Title";
154 $data['heading'] = "My Real Heading";
155
156 $this->load->view('blogview', $data);
157 }
158}
159?>
160</textarea>
161
162
163<p>Now open your view file and change the text to variables that correspond to the array keys in your data:</p>
164
165
166<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="10">
Derek Allardc6441282007-07-04 23:54:32 +0000167&lt;html>
168&lt;head>
169&lt;title>&lt;?php echo $title;?>&lt;/title>
170&lt;/head>
171&lt;body>
172 &lt;h1>&lt;?php echo $heading;?>&lt;/h1>
173&lt;/body>
174&lt;/html>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000175</textarea>
176
177<p>Then load the page at the URL you've been using and you should see the variables replaced.</p>
178
admine7e1dcd2006-10-21 18:04:01 +0000179<p><strong>Note:</strong> You'll notice that in the example above we are using PHP's alternative syntax. If you
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000180are not familiar with it you can read about it <a href="alternative_php.html">here</a>.</p>
181
182<h2>Creating Loops</h2>
183
184<p>The data array you pass to your view files is not limited to simple variables. You can
185pass multi dimensional arrays, which can be looped to generate multiple rows. For example, if you
186pull data from your database it will typically be in the form of a multi-dimensional array.</p>
187
188<p>Here's a simple example. Add this to your controller:</p>
189
190<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="17">
191<?php
192class Blog extends Controller {
193
194 function index()
195 {
196 $data['todo_list'] = array('Clean House', 'Call Mom', 'Run Errands');
197
198 $data['title'] = "My Real Title";
199 $data['heading'] = "My Real Heading";
200
201 $this->load->view('blogview', $data);
202 }
203}
204?>
205</textarea>
206
207
208<p>Now open your view file and create a loop:</p>
209
210
211<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="24">
Derek Allardc6441282007-07-04 23:54:32 +0000212&lt;html>
213&lt;head>
Derek Allard2005ffe2007-09-15 20:11:54 +0000214&lt;title>&lt;?php echo $title;?>&lt;/title>
Derek Allardc6441282007-07-04 23:54:32 +0000215&lt;/head>
216&lt;body>
Derek Allard2005ffe2007-09-15 20:11:54 +0000217&lt;h1>&lt;?php echo $heading;?>&lt;/h1>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000218
Derek Allardc6441282007-07-04 23:54:32 +0000219&lt;h3>My Todo List&lt;/h3>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000220
Derek Allardc6441282007-07-04 23:54:32 +0000221&lt;ul>
222&lt;?php foreach($todo_list as $item):?>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000223
Derek Allard2005ffe2007-09-15 20:11:54 +0000224&lt;li>&lt;?php echo $item;?>&lt;/li>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000225
Derek Allardc6441282007-07-04 23:54:32 +0000226&lt;?php endforeach;?>
227&lt;/ul>
adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000228
229
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adminb0dd10f2006-08-25 17:25:49 +0000232</textarea>
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