CodeIgniter – Configuration

CodeIgniter – Configuration

After  setting  up  the  site,  the  next  thing  that  we  should  do  is  to  configure  the  site.  The application/config folder contains a group of files that set basic configuration of your site.

Configuring Base URL  

The  base  URL  of  the  site  can  be  configured  in  application/config/config.php  file.  It  is  URL to your CodeIgniter root. Typically, this will be your base URL, with a trailing slash e.g.

http://example.com/

If this is not set, then CodeIgniter will try to guess the protocol, domain and path to your installation.  However,  you  should  always  configure  this  explicitly  and  never  rely  on  auto- guessing,  especially  in  production  environments.  You  can  configure  the  base  URL  in  the

$config array with key “base_url” as shown below:

$config['base_url']  =  'http://your-domain.com';

Database Configuration  

The  database  of  the  site  can  be  configured  in  application/database.php  file.  Often  we need to set up database for different environment like development and production. With the   multidimensional   array   provided   in   the   CodeIgniter,   we   can   setup   database   for different   environment.   The   configuration   settings   are   stored   in   the   array   as   shown below:

$db['default']  =  array(

'dsn'  =>  '',

'hostname'  =>  'localhost', 'username'  =>  'root', 'password'  =>  '',

'database'  =>  'database_name',

'dbdriver'  =>  'mysqli', 'dbprefix'  =>  '', 'pconnect'  =>  TRUE, 'db_debug'  =>  TRUE, 'cache_on'  =>  FALSE, 'cachedir'  =>  '', 'char_set'  =>  'utf8',

'dbcollat'  =>  'utf8_general_ci',

'swap_pre'  =>  '', 'encrypt'  =>  FALSE, 'compress'  =>  FALSE, 'stricton'  =>  FALSE, 'failover'  =>  array()

);

You can leave few options to their default values except hostname, username, password, database and dbdriver.

·hostname: Specify location of your database here e.g. localhost or IP address

·username: Set username of your database here.

·password: Set password of your database here.

·database: Set name of the database here.

·dbdriver: Set   type   of   database   that   you   are   using   e.g.   MySQL,   MySQLi, Postgre SQL, ODBC, and MS SQL.

By  changing  the  key  of  the  array  $db,  you  can  set  other  configuration  of  database  as shown   below.   Here,   we   have   set   the   key   to   ‘test’  to   set   the   database   for   testing environment, by keeping the other database environment as it is.

$db['test']  =  array(

'dsn'  =>  '',

'hostname'  =>  'localhost', 'username'  =>  'root', 'password'  =>  '',

'database'  =>  'database_name', 'dbdriver'  =>  'mysqli', 'dbprefix'  =>  '',

'pconnect'  =>  TRUE, 'db_debug'  =>  TRUE, 'cache_on'  =>  FALSE, 'cachedir'  =>  '', 'char_set'  =>  'utf8',

'dbcollat'  =>  'utf8_general_ci', 'swap_pre'  =>  '',

'encrypt'  =>  FALSE, 'compress'  =>  FALSE, 'stricton'  =>  FALSE, 'failover'  =>  array()

);

You  can  simply  switch  to  different  environment  by  changing  the  value  of  a  variable  as shown below:

$active_group = ‘default’; //This will set the default environment

$active_group = ‘test’; //This will set the test environment

Autoload Configuration  

This  file  specifies,  by  default,  which  systems  should  be  loaded.  In  order  to  keep  the framework  as  light-weight  as  possible,  only  the  absolute  minimal  resources  are  loaded by  default.  One  should  autoload  the  frequently  used  system,  rather  than  loading  it  at local level, repeatedly. Following are the things you can load automatically:

·Libraries:  It  is  a  list  of  libraries,  which  should  be  auto  loaded.  Provide  a  list  of libraries  in  an  array  as  shown  below  to  be  autoloaded  by  CodeIgniter.  In  this example, we are auto loading database, email and session libraries.

$autoload['libraries']  =  array('database',  'email',  'session');

·Drivers:     These     classes     are     located     in     system/libraries/     or     in     your application/libraries/  directory,  but  are  also  placed  inside  their  own  subdirectory and  they  extend  the  CI_Driver_Library  class.  They  offer  multiple  interchangeable driver options. Following is an example to autoload cache drivers.

$autoload['drivers']  =  array('cache');

·Helper files:  It is a list of helper files, to be autoloaded. Provide a list of libraries in  the  array,  as  shown  below,  to  be  autoloaded  by  CodeIgniter.  In  the  given example, we are autoloading URL and file helpers.

$autoload['helper']  =  array('url',  'file');

·Custom  config  files:  These  files  are  intended  for  use,  only  if  you  have  created custom  config  files.   Otherwise,  leave  it  blank.  Following  is  an  example  of  how  to autoload more than one config files.

$autoload['config']  =  array('config1',  'config2');

·Language  files:  It  is  a  list  of  language  files,  which  should  be  auto  loaded.  Look at  the  example  given  below.  Provide  a  list  of  languages  in  an  array  as  shown below  to  be  auto  loaded  by  CodeIgniter.  Keep  in  mind  that  do  not  include  the "_lang"    part    of    your    file.       For    example,    "codeigniter_lang.php"    would    be referenced as array('codeigniter');

$autoload['language']  =  array('lang1',  'lang2');

·Models:  It  is  a  list  of  models  file,  which  should  be  autoloaded.  Provide  a  list  of models  in  an  array  as  shown  below  to  be  autoloaded  by  CodeIgniter.  Following  is the example of how to auto load more than one models files.

$autoload['model']  =  array('first_model',  'second_model');