Codeigniter Programming Language: A Comprehensive Guide

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CodeIgniter is a popular PHP framework that simplifies web development. It's known for its flexibility and ease of use.

One of the key benefits of CodeIgniter is its modular design, which allows developers to easily swap out or add new components as needed. This makes it an ideal choice for complex projects.

CodeIgniter's syntax is also relatively straightforward, making it accessible to developers of all skill levels. Its intuitive structure and logical organization make it easy to follow and understand.

Getting Started

CodeIgniter is indeed PHP's most significant offering in the open-source framework segment. Due to its friendly URLs, developers find it easy to build large-scale, dynamic, and secured web applications.

To start with CodeIgniter, you can either install it automatically via Composer or manually using the File Manager. SSH access is required for the Composer method, which can be accessed using PuTTY or Powershell on Windows or the built-in terminal shell on Linux and macOS.

Credit: youtube.com, Codeigniter - Basic set up and configurations

CodeIgniter can be installed using Composer with a single command: `composer create-project codeigniter4/appstarter project-name`. This command will create a project-root directory for the CodeIgniter files.

For convenience, it's recommended to move the contents of the project-root directory to the public_html directory. You can do this by running the command `mv project-root public_html` from the project-root directory.

Alternatively, you can install CodeIgniter manually by downloading the CodeIgniter files from the official website and uploading them to your server.

Understanding CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter is a PHP MVC framework used for developing web applications rapidly. It provides out of the box libraries for connecting to the database and performing various operations like sending emails, uploading files, managing sessions, etc.

CodeIgniter is a PHP full-stack web framework that is light, fast, flexible and secure. This means it's perfect for building dynamic web pages and websites quickly.

CodeIgniter is considered one of the best open-source software by many industrialists and experts. It's used to create dynamic web apps and websites in the PHP language, and is known for its vibrant speed and rapid responsiveness.

What Is?

Credit: youtube.com, What is codeigniter and how it works

CodeIgniter is a PHP framework used for developing web applications rapidly. It's designed to help you build dynamic web pages and websites quickly.

CodeIgniter is a PHP full-stack web framework that's light, fast, flexible, and secure. This makes it a popular choice among developers.

It's considered one of the best open-source frameworks by many experts and industrialists. They praise its rapid development capabilities and ease of use.

CodeIgniter uses the Model View Controller (MVC) framework and the Hierarchical Model View Controller (HMVC) pattern. This helps developers organize their code in a modular and efficient way.

The framework provides out-of-the-box libraries for common tasks like database connections, email sending, and file uploads. This saves developers time and effort.

Version 4 of CodeIgniter is a complete rewrite, bringing the framework into a more modern version. It still maintains the things that made people love the framework over the years.

CodeIgniter is open-source software, which means it's free to use and distribute. This has contributed to its popularity among developers.

Routing Basics

Credit: youtube.com, Codeigniter 4 Episode 5 : Routing Basics

Routing Basics is a crucial part of CodeIgniter that allows you to remove index.php from your URLs.

This means your URLs will be similar to example URLs, where the controller class name corresponds to a controller file.

For instance, the URL might look like welcome/welcomer/1, where welcome is the controller class and 1 is a parameter passed to the tester() function.

More parameters can be supplied, separated by slashes, similar to how you would pass multiple values to a function.

The controller class will call the corresponding function, such as tester(), and pass the parameters as needed.

Release History

CodeIgniter has a rich history that spans over 15 years. It was first released in 2006, marking the beginning of its journey.

The first version of CodeIgniter was launched in 2006, and since then, the framework has undergone significant changes.

One notable event was the launch of ExpressionEngine 2.0 in 2009, which likely had a substantial impact on the development of CodeIgniter.

Credit: youtube.com, Introduction to versions in Codeigniter 4 | Development OR production CI4

Here's a brief overview of the major milestones in CodeIgniter's release history:

In 2014, the British Columbia Institute of Technology took ownership of the project, ensuring its continued development and maintenance.

The latest version of CodeIgniter, version 4.1.4, was officially launched in 2021, providing users with a stable and feature-rich framework.

MVC Architecture

The MVC Architecture is a fundamental concept in CodeIgniter programming language. It's a web development architecture paradigm that separates the business logic from the presentation.

MVC stands for Model-View-Controller, and it's the industry standard practice that separates the data, business logic, and presentation in web applications. The Model deals with the database, carries out computations, and more, while the View forms the application's presentation layer where the data from models is embedded. The Controller will route user requests to the appropriate model, and once the model has done its job, the controller will load the relevant view.

This architectural pattern gives developers the flexibility to reuse code for multiple views. For example, it will allow you to implement the same navigation bar on every webpage of your application.

Credit: youtube.com, What is MVC Framework? Explained with Codeigniter Example

Here are the main components of the MVC architecture:

  • Model: deals with the database, carries out computations, and more.
  • View: forms the application's presentation layer where the data from models is embedded.
  • Controller: routes user requests to the appropriate model and loads the relevant view.

The MVC architecture also enables Test-Driven Development, which means that developers can precisely develop and test the modules as per the requirements. This enhances the development procedure and offers easy integration with JavaScript frameworks.

Development and Testing

CodeIgniter is the only platform that enables test-driven development, which ensures that the developer can use the step-by-step testing approach while developing a website.

The performance or the functionality of the website can be analyzed with ease by using this step-by-step approach, allowing for complete testing of each phase efficiently.

CodeIgniter development offers several security-rich functions and features with inbuilt functionalities for input and output filtering, making it highly beneficial for developers to manage data in the installation process.

With its step-by-step testing characteristic, CodeIgniter is exceptionally helpful in any web application development framework process, allowing developers to audit functions with their performance level and distribute best strategies for future development projects.

CodeIgniter's model view controller framework has a simple interface, making it easy to learn and use, and can be easily configured to match the requirements of any enterprise.

Configuring

Credit: youtube.com, Config Driven Development-Test Framework Architecture - Sharanabasappa Bujuruke

Configuring CodeIgniter is a crucial step in setting up a development environment. You'll need to create a .htaccess file and paste a specific snippet into it.

To configure CodeIgniter correctly, start by creating a .htaccess file. This file is essential for re-routing requests and ensuring that no errors appear. You can do this by navigating to the File Manager in your hosting panel and opening the Database.php file for editing.

The database is now synced with CodeIgniter. However, VPS users may need to set up virtual hosts to run multiple CodeIgniter applications on a single domain name.

Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up virtual hosts:

  1. Ensure that the document root is synced with the installation directory of CodeIgniter. To do so, open the virtual host file.
  2. Check whether mod_rewrite is enabled by executing this command:
  3. Paste the following lines to the file. If .htaccess was already created during the configuration part of the tutorial, add all the lines except for the first one. Save the changes and exit the file:
  1. Let Apache know that it should look for the newly-created .htaccess file. To achieve this, open the virtual host file again:
  2. Ensure that AllowOverride is set to All, as shown below:

By following these steps, you'll be able to configure CodeIgniter and set up virtual hosts for a more efficient development process.

Creating a Phpmyadmin Table

Log in to your hosting account and navigate to the Databases section to select phpMyAdmin.

To create a table, look for the database synced with CodeIgniter and click Enter phpMyAdmin.

The SQL section is where you'll create the table. Paste in the query and press Go to execute it.

The query will create the table, which is essential for your application.

Test Driven Development

Credit: youtube.com, Agile in Practice: Test Driven Development

Test Driven Development is a crucial aspect of web development, and CodeIgniter makes it easier than ever. CodeIgniter is the only platform that enables test-driven development, which ensures that the developer can use the step-by-step testing approach while developing a website.

This means that every phase of the development can be checked by using the step-by-step approach and one can expect complete testing of each phase efficiently. The performance or the functionality of the website can be analyzed with ease.

One of the key benefits of CodeIgniter is its ability to improve the performance level and helps developers plan better for future projects. This is made possible by its step-by-step testing characteristic, which gives web developers a comprehensive way to complete the CodeIgniter web development procedure.

CodeIgniter also offers several security-rich functions and features that have inbuilt functionalities for input and output filtering. This helps to eliminate the amount of time required in procuring references for alterations, making it a more efficient development process.

Credit: youtube.com, Test Driven Development - What? Why? And How?

Here are some of the key features of CodeIgniter's test-driven development:

  • Step-by-step testing approach
  • Complete testing of each phase
  • Improved performance level
  • Comprehensive way to complete web development procedure
  • Security-rich functions and features

Overall, CodeIgniter's test-driven development features make it an ideal choice for web developers who want to ensure that their website is developed efficiently and effectively.

Handling Bugs/Error Handling

Handling bugs and errors is a crucial aspect of web development. CodeIgniter provides a simple user interface to help find and fix errors that affect the user experience.

CodeIgniter displays errors in the code precisely without any hassle. This is why many developers prefer it for building bug-free websites that deliver exceptional functionality and design.

Seeking help from a professional with expertise in web development services can be a great idea.

Server Requirements

To ensure your development and testing process runs smoothly, it's essential to meet the server requirements. PHP version 8.1 or higher is required, with specific extensions installed.

The end of life date for PHP 7.4 was November 28, 2022, making it a priority to upgrade immediately if you're still using it. PHP 8.0's end of life date was November 26, 2023, so it's also crucial to upgrade from this version.

Credit: youtube.com, 5 Types of Testing Software Every Developer Needs to Know!

You'll need to install the intl and mbstring extensions, which are essential for PHP to function properly. json is also required, and it's enabled by default, so you shouldn't disable it.

If you plan to use MySQL, you'll need to install the mysqlnd extension. Similarly, if you plan to use the HTTP\CURLRequest library, you'll need libcurl. The end of life date for PHP 8.1 will be December 31, 2025, so keep this in mind when planning your upgrades.

Here's a summary of the required extensions:

  • intl
  • mbstring
  • json
  • mysqlnd (if using MySQL)
  • libcurl (if using the HTTP\CURLRequest library)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is CodeIgniter not popular?

CodeIgniter's age and lack of integration with newer PHP functionality contribute to its relatively low popularity. Despite its loyal user base, its outdated approach to security and development makes it less appealing to some developers.

Is it easy to learn CodeIgniter?

CodeIgniter is a beginner-friendly framework, but prior knowledge of web development is recommended to get started. Learning CodeIgniter is a great choice for new PHP developers, with a gentle learning curve.

Calvin Connelly

Senior Writer

Calvin Connelly is a seasoned writer with a passion for crafting engaging content on a wide range of topics. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for storytelling, Calvin has established himself as a versatile and reliable voice in the world of writing. In addition to his general writing expertise, Calvin has developed a particular interest in covering important and timely subjects that impact society.

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