CodeIgniter - One Heck of a Can Opener
As a huge CodeIgniter enthusiast, I was asked to say a few words about the framework that’s completely changed my development style. And, always wanting to give back to the community, I decided to write a little bit of text explaining exactly why I think CodeIgniter is so good.
There is also an audio version of some of the article to go along with this too.
CodeIgniter is one of those things that just does a job perfectly. Take for example, the humble can opener. Whilst there may be a few other ways to open a can of tuna, the can opener just ‘works’ it serves a simple, yet extremely efficient purpose, and does its job with perfection.
CodeIgniter is exactly that. A can opener.
It’s a lightweight, efficient, full-featured web application framework that’s flexible enough to use for any type of web app. It’s built from ground-up with just one purpose - to make our lives easy; without sacrificing functionality, speed, or flexibility.
If most of your web applications share functionality across the board, you wouldn’t rewrite all that functionality for every one of them would you? - It’d be a ridiculous waste of time. CI is basically the skeleton for all my web applications. And instead of spending my time creating core functionality, I can spend my time building application level functionality.
When I first install CodeIgniter, I take 1 minute to configure a few settings, and then I’m away coding how the web application will work. Rapid is very much an understatement.
I’ve used CodeIgniter to build a basic content management system, an Enterprise Level XML-RPC based backend, a file mangement system, a blog, a photo gallery, a forum, a recruitment site… you name it, CodeIgniter just ‘fits’.
I don’t think I’d ever go back to development without CodeIgniter. It’s saved me hundreds in headache pills, and will probably continue to save me thousands more.
This is part of Ellislab’s ‘Have Your Voice‘ series, which allows members of the CodeIgniter community to write a little bit about CodeIgniter. I jumped at the chance to post some content, since CodeIgniter has become the main weapon in my development arsenal. So, if you’re passionate about CI, why not give something back too?
As a way of giving the CI community an even louder voice, I’d like to once a week or two publish something from a community member to the CodeIgniter blog. Its a chance to write about whatever you want, and speak your voice. The idea isn’t to gather posts on a specific topic, its to let you share with the communtiy. Has CodeIgniter given you something? Please give back!
- Derek Allard
A huge thanks to Ellislab for the opportunity to write for the CodeIgniter Blog, hopefully I’ll be posting some more CI Related Goodies!
June 15th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Well said!
June 18th, 2008 at 6:18 am
true… true… true…
June 25th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Hey Elliot,
I liked your approach of moving the application folder outside of the system folder, but when I try, my view files are no longer populated by the array keys sent from the controller->load->view($data).
Any ideas what I’m missing?
Cheers,
Dave