EVOLUTION-NINJA

Edit File: ancillary_classes.html

<!DOCTYPE html>

 <html class="no-js" lang="en" > 
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  
  <title>Creating Ancillary Classes &mdash; CodeIgniter 3.1.5 documentation</title>

</head>

<div id="nav">
  <div id="nav_inner">
    
    
    
      <div id="pulldown-menu" class="ciNav">
        <ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="welcome.html">Welcome to CodeIgniter</a><ul class="simple">
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/index.html">Installation Instructions</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/downloads.html">Downloading CodeIgniter</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/index.html">Installation Instructions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/upgrading.html">Upgrading From a Previous Version</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/troubleshooting.html">Troubleshooting</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/index.html">CodeIgniter Overview</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/getting_started.html">Getting Started</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/at_a_glance.html">CodeIgniter at a Glance</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/features.html">Supported Features</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/appflow.html">Application Flow Chart</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/mvc.html">Model-View-Controller</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/goals.html">Architectural Goals</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/index.html">Tutorial</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/static_pages.html">Static pages</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/news_section.html">News section</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/create_news_items.html">Create news items</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/conclusion.html">Conclusion</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../contributing/index.html">Contributing to CodeIgniter</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../documentation/index.html">Writing CodeIgniter Documentation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../DCO.html">Developer&#8217;s Certificate of Origin 1.1</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l1 current"><a class="reference internal" href="index.html">General Topics</a><ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="urls.html">CodeIgniter URLs</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="controllers.html">Controllers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="reserved_names.html">Reserved Names</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="views.html">Views</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="models.html">Models</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="helpers.html">Helpers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="libraries.html">Using CodeIgniter Libraries</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="creating_libraries.html">Creating Libraries</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="drivers.html">Using CodeIgniter Drivers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="creating_drivers.html">Creating Drivers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="core_classes.html">Creating Core System Classes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 current"><a class="current reference internal" href="">Creating Ancillary Classes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="hooks.html">Hooks - Extending the Framework Core</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="autoloader.html">Auto-loading Resources</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="common_functions.html">Common Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="compatibility_functions.html">Compatibility Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="routing.html">URI Routing</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="errors.html">Error Handling</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="caching.html">Caching</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="profiling.html">Profiling Your Application</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="cli.html">Running via the CLI</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="managing_apps.html">Managing your Applications</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="environments.html">Handling Multiple Environments</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="alternative_php.html">Alternate PHP Syntax for View Files</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="security.html">Security</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="styleguide.html">PHP Style Guide</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/index.html">Libraries</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/benchmark.html">Benchmarking Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/caching.html">Caching Driver</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/calendar.html">Calendaring Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/cart.html">Shopping Cart Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/config.html">Config Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/email.html">Email Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/encrypt.html">Encrypt Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/encryption.html">Encryption Library</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/file_uploading.html">File Uploading Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/form_validation.html">Form Validation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/ftp.html">FTP Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/image_lib.html">Image Manipulation Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/input.html">Input Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/javascript.html">Javascript Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/language.html">Language Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/loader.html">Loader Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/migration.html">Migrations Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/output.html">Output Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/pagination.html">Pagination Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/parser.html">Template Parser Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/security.html">Security Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/sessions.html">Session Library</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/table.html">HTML Table Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/trackback.html">Trackback Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/typography.html">Typography Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/unit_testing.html">Unit Testing Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/uri.html">URI Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/user_agent.html">User Agent Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/xmlrpc.html">XML-RPC and XML-RPC Server Classes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/zip.html">Zip Encoding Class</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/index.html">Database Reference</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/examples.html">Quick Start: Usage Examples</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/configuration.html">Database Configuration</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/connecting.html">Connecting to a Database</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/queries.html">Running Queries</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/results.html">Generating Query Results</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/helpers.html">Query Helper Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/query_builder.html">Query Builder Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/transactions.html">Transactions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/metadata.html">Getting MetaData</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/call_function.html">Custom Function Calls</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/caching.html">Query Caching</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/forge.html">Database Manipulation with Database Forge</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/utilities.html">Database Utilities Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/db_driver_reference.html">Database Driver Reference</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/index.html">Helpers</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/array_helper.html">Array Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/captcha_helper.html">CAPTCHA Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/cookie_helper.html">Cookie Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/date_helper.html">Date Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/directory_helper.html">Directory Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/download_helper.html">Download Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/email_helper.html">Email Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/file_helper.html">File Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/form_helper.html">Form Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/html_helper.html">HTML Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/inflector_helper.html">Inflector Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/language_helper.html">Language Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/number_helper.html">Number Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/path_helper.html">Path Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/security_helper.html">Security Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/smiley_helper.html">Smiley Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/string_helper.html">String Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/text_helper.html">Text Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/typography_helper.html">Typography Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/url_helper.html">URL Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/xml_helper.html">XML Helper</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

</div>
    
      
  </div>
</div>
<div id="nav2">
  <a href="#" id="openToc">
    <img src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" title="Toggle Table of Contents" alt="Toggle Table of Contents" />
  </a>
</div>

<nav data-toggle="wy-nav-shift" class="wy-nav-side">
      <div class="wy-side-nav-search">
        
          <a href="../index.html" class="fa fa-home"> CodeIgniter</a>
        
        
<div role="search">
  <form id="rtd-search-form" class="wy-form" action="../search.html" method="get">
    <input type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search docs" />
    <input type="hidden" name="check_keywords" value="yes" />
    <input type="hidden" name="area" value="default" />
  </form>
</div>
      </div>

<div class="wy-menu wy-menu-vertical" data-spy="affix" role="navigation" aria-label="main navigation">
        
          
          
              <ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="welcome.html">Welcome to CodeIgniter</a><ul class="simple">
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/index.html">Installation Instructions</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/downloads.html">Downloading CodeIgniter</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/index.html">Installation Instructions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/upgrading.html">Upgrading From a Previous Version</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../installation/troubleshooting.html">Troubleshooting</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/index.html">CodeIgniter Overview</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/getting_started.html">Getting Started</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/at_a_glance.html">CodeIgniter at a Glance</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/features.html">Supported Features</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/appflow.html">Application Flow Chart</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/mvc.html">Model-View-Controller</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../overview/goals.html">Architectural Goals</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/index.html">Tutorial</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/static_pages.html">Static pages</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/news_section.html">News section</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/create_news_items.html">Create news items</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/conclusion.html">Conclusion</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../contributing/index.html">Contributing to CodeIgniter</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../documentation/index.html">Writing CodeIgniter Documentation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../DCO.html">Developer&#8217;s Certificate of Origin 1.1</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l1 current"><a class="reference internal" href="index.html">General Topics</a><ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="urls.html">CodeIgniter URLs</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="controllers.html">Controllers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="reserved_names.html">Reserved Names</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="views.html">Views</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="models.html">Models</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="helpers.html">Helpers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="libraries.html">Using CodeIgniter Libraries</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="creating_libraries.html">Creating Libraries</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="drivers.html">Using CodeIgniter Drivers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="creating_drivers.html">Creating Drivers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="core_classes.html">Creating Core System Classes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 current"><a class="current reference internal" href="">Creating Ancillary Classes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="hooks.html">Hooks - Extending the Framework Core</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="autoloader.html">Auto-loading Resources</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="common_functions.html">Common Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="compatibility_functions.html">Compatibility Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="routing.html">URI Routing</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="errors.html">Error Handling</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="caching.html">Caching</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="profiling.html">Profiling Your Application</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="cli.html">Running via the CLI</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="managing_apps.html">Managing your Applications</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="environments.html">Handling Multiple Environments</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="alternative_php.html">Alternate PHP Syntax for View Files</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="security.html">Security</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="styleguide.html">PHP Style Guide</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/index.html">Libraries</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/benchmark.html">Benchmarking Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/caching.html">Caching Driver</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/calendar.html">Calendaring Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/cart.html">Shopping Cart Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/config.html">Config Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/email.html">Email Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/encrypt.html">Encrypt Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/encryption.html">Encryption Library</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/file_uploading.html">File Uploading Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/form_validation.html">Form Validation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/ftp.html">FTP Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/image_lib.html">Image Manipulation Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/input.html">Input Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/javascript.html">Javascript Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/language.html">Language Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/loader.html">Loader Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/migration.html">Migrations Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/output.html">Output Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/pagination.html">Pagination Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/parser.html">Template Parser Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/security.html">Security Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/sessions.html">Session Library</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/table.html">HTML Table Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/trackback.html">Trackback Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/typography.html">Typography Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/unit_testing.html">Unit Testing Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/uri.html">URI Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/user_agent.html">User Agent Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/xmlrpc.html">XML-RPC and XML-RPC Server Classes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../libraries/zip.html">Zip Encoding Class</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/index.html">Database Reference</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/examples.html">Quick Start: Usage Examples</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/configuration.html">Database Configuration</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/connecting.html">Connecting to a Database</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/queries.html">Running Queries</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/results.html">Generating Query Results</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/helpers.html">Query Helper Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/query_builder.html">Query Builder Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/transactions.html">Transactions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/metadata.html">Getting MetaData</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/call_function.html">Custom Function Calls</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/caching.html">Query Caching</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/forge.html">Database Manipulation with Database Forge</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/utilities.html">Database Utilities Class</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../database/db_driver_reference.html">Database Driver Reference</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/index.html">Helpers</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/array_helper.html">Array Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/captcha_helper.html">CAPTCHA Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/cookie_helper.html">Cookie Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/date_helper.html">Date Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/directory_helper.html">Directory Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/download_helper.html">Download Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/email_helper.html">Email Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/file_helper.html">File Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/form_helper.html">Form Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/html_helper.html">HTML Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/inflector_helper.html">Inflector Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/language_helper.html">Language Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/number_helper.html">Number Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/path_helper.html">Path Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/security_helper.html">Security Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/smiley_helper.html">Smiley Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/string_helper.html">String Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/text_helper.html">Text Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/typography_helper.html">Typography Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/url_helper.html">URL Helper</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../helpers/xml_helper.html">XML Helper</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

</div>
      &nbsp;
    </nav>

<nav class="wy-nav-top" role="navigation" aria-label="top navigation">
        <i data-toggle="wy-nav-top" class="fa fa-bars"></i>
        <a href="../index.html">CodeIgniter</a>
      </nav>

<div class="wy-nav-content">
        <div class="rst-content">
          <div role="navigation" aria-label="breadcrumbs navigation">
  <ul class="wy-breadcrumbs">
    <li><a href="../index.html">Docs</a> &raquo;</li>
      
        <li><a href="index.html">General Topics</a> &raquo;</li>
      
    <li>Creating Ancillary Classes</li>
    <li class="wy-breadcrumbs-aside">
      
    </li>
    <div style="float:right;margin-left:5px;" id="closeMe">
      <img title="Classic Layout" alt="classic layout" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhFAAUAJEAAAAAADMzM////wAAACH5BAUUAAIALAAAAAAUABQAAAImlI+py+0PU5gRBRDM3DxbWoXis42X13USOLauUIqnlsaH/eY6UwAAOw==" />
    </div>
  </ul>
  <hr/>
</div>
          <div role="main" class="document">
            
  <div class="section" id="creating-ancillary-classes">
<h1>Creating Ancillary Classes<a class="headerlink" href="#creating-ancillary-classes" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<p>In some cases you may want to develop classes that exist apart from your
controllers but have the ability to utilize all of CodeIgniter&#8217;s
resources. This is easily possible as you&#8217;ll see.</p>
<div class="section" id="get-instance">
<h2>get_instance()<a class="headerlink" href="#get-instance" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<dl class="function">
<dt id="get_instance">
<tt class="descname">get_instance</tt><big>(</big><big>)</big><a class="headerlink" href="#get_instance" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><table class="docutils field-list" frame="void" rules="none">
<col class="field-name" />
<col class="field-body" />
<tbody valign="top">
<tr class="field-odd field"><th class="field-name">Returns:</th><td class="field-body">Reference to your controller&#8217;s instance</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field-even field"><th class="field-name">Return type:</th><td class="field-body">CI_Controller</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</dd></dl>

<p><strong>Any class that you instantiate within your controller methods can
access CodeIgniter&#8217;s native resources</strong> simply by using the
<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">get_instance()</span></tt> function. This function returns the main
CodeIgniter object.</p>
<p>Normally, to call any of the available methods, CodeIgniter requires
you to use the <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">$this</span></tt> construct:</p>
<div class="highlight-ci"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="nv">$this</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">load</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">helper</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;url&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
<span class="nv">$this</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">load</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">library</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;session&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
<span class="nv">$this</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">config</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">item</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;base_url&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
<span class="c1">// etc.</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p><tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">$this</span></tt>, however, only works within your controllers, your models,
or your views. If you would like to use CodeIgniter&#8217;s classes from
within your own custom classes you can do so as follows:</p>
<p>First, assign the CodeIgniter object to a variable:</p>
<div class="highlight-ci"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="nv">$CI</span> <span class="o">=&amp;</span> <span class="nx">get_instance</span><span class="p">();</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Once you&#8217;ve assigned the object to a variable, you&#8217;ll use that variable
<em>instead</em> of <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">$this</span></tt>:</p>
<div class="highlight-ci"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="nv">$CI</span> <span class="o">=&amp;</span> <span class="nx">get_instance</span><span class="p">();</span>

<span class="nv">$CI</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">load</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">helper</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;url&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
<span class="nv">$CI</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">load</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">library</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;session&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
<span class="nv">$CI</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">config</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">item</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;base_url&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
<span class="c1">// etc.</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If you&#8217;ll be using <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">get_instance()</span></tt> inside another class, then it would
be better if you assign it to a property. This way, you won&#8217;t need to call
<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">get_instance()</span></tt> in every single method.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<div class="highlight-ci"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">class</span> <span class="nc">Example</span> <span class="p">{</span>

<span class="k">protected</span> <span class="nv">$CI</span><span class="p">;</span>

<span class="c1">// We&#39;ll use a constructor, as you can&#39;t directly call a function</span>
        <span class="c1">// from a property definition.</span>
        <span class="k">public</span> <span class="k">function</span> <span class="nf">__construct</span><span class="p">()</span>
        <span class="p">{</span>
                <span class="c1">// Assign the CodeIgniter super-object</span>
                <span class="nv">$this</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">CI</span> <span class="o">=&amp;</span> <span class="nx">get_instance</span><span class="p">();</span>
        <span class="p">}</span>

<span class="k">public</span> <span class="k">function</span> <span class="nf">foo</span><span class="p">()</span>
        <span class="p">{</span>
                <span class="nv">$this</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">CI</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">load</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">helper</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;url&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
                <span class="nx">redirect</span><span class="p">();</span>
        <span class="p">}</span>

<span class="k">public</span> <span class="k">function</span> <span class="nf">bar</span><span class="p">()</span>
        <span class="p">{</span>
                <span class="nv">$this</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">CI</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">config</span><span class="o">-&gt;</span><span class="na">item</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">&#39;base_url&#39;</span><span class="p">);</span>
        <span class="p">}</span>
<span class="p">}</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>In the above example, both methods <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">foo()</span></tt> and <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">bar()</span></tt> will work
after you instantiate the Example class, without the need to call
<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">get_instance()</span></tt> in each of them.</p>
</div>
</div>

</div>
          <footer>
  
    <div class="rst-footer-buttons" role="navigation" aria-label="footer navigation">
      
        <a href="hooks.html" class="btn btn-neutral float-right" title="Hooks - Extending the Framework Core">Next <span class="fa fa-arrow-circle-right"></span></a>
      
      
        <a href="core_classes.html" class="btn btn-neutral" title="Creating Core System Classes"><span class="fa fa-arrow-circle-left"></span> Previous</a>
      
    </div>

<hr/>

Built with <a href="http://sphinx-doc.org/">Sphinx</a> using a <a href="https://github.com/snide/sphinx_rtd_theme">theme</a> provided by <a href="https://readthedocs.org">Read the Docs</a>.
  
</footer>
        </div>
      </div>

</section>

</div>

</body>
</html>