How Can I Automate Header and Footer Inclusion in CodeIgniter Views?

Automate Header and Footer in CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter's default view loading process requires the repetitive task of including header and footer views in every controller. This can become tedious and time-consuming when working with multiple controllers and views.

To address this issue, a custom loader class can be created to automate the process of including header and footer views. This allows developers to load views without explicitly calling the load->view() method for each component.

Custom Loader Class

Create a new file named MY_Loader.php in the application/core directory. This file will extend the CodeIgniter's CI_Loader class and add a new template() method.

<code class="php">// application/core/MY_Loader.php

class MY_Loader extends CI_Loader {
    public function template($template_name, $vars = array(), $return = FALSE) {
        $content  = $this->view('templates/header', $vars, $return);
        $content .= $this->view($template_name, $vars, $return);
        $content .= $this->view('templates/footer', $vars, $return);

        if ($return) {
            return $content;
        }
    }
}</code>

In the template() method:

• It loads the header view into the $content variable.
• It then loads the specified view (e.g., body) into $content.
• Finally, it loads the footer view and appends it to $content.
• If $return is set to TRUE, it returns the combined content; otherwise, it displays the combined view.

Usage in Controllers

After creating the custom loader class, update the constructor in your controllers to load the extended loader:

<code class="php">class My_Controller extends CI_Controller {
    public function __construct() {
        parent::__construct();
        $this->load = new MY_Loader();
    }
}</code>

Now, you can load your views with the template() method:

<code class="php">$this->load->template('body');</code>

This will load the header, body, and footer views automatically. You can also pass variables to the views as needed.

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