###########
Controllers
###########

Controllers are the heart of your application, as they determine how HTTP requests should be handled.

.. contents::
    :local:
    :depth: 2


What is a Controller?
=====================

A Controller is simply a class file that is named in a way that it can be associated with a URI.

Consider this URI::

	example.com/index.php/helloworld/

In the above example, CodeIgniter would attempt to find a controller named Helloworld.php and load it.

**When a controller's name matches the first segment of a URI, it will be loaded.**

Let's try it: Hello World!
==========================

Let's create a simple controller so you can see it in action. Using your text editor, create a file called Helloworld.php,
and put the following code in it::

	<?php namespace App\Controllers;

        use CodeIgniter\Controller;

	class Helloworld extends Controller
        {
		public function index()
		{
			echo 'Hello World!';
		}
	}

Then save the file to your **/app/Controllers/** directory.

.. important:: The file must be called 'Helloworld.php', with a capital 'H'.

Now visit your site using a URL similar to this::

	example.com/index.php/helloworld

If you did it right you should see::

	Hello World!

.. important:: Controller class names MUST start with an uppercase letter and ONLY the first character can be uppercase.

This is valid::

	<?php namespace App\Controllers;

        use CodeIgniter\Controller;

	class Helloworld extends Controller {

	}

This is **not** valid::

	<?php namespace App\Controllers;

        use CodeIgniter\Controller;

	class helloworld extends Controller {

	}

This is **not** valid::

	<?php namespace App\Controllers;

        use CodeIgniter\Controller;

	class HelloWorld extends Controller {

	}

Also, always make sure your controller extends the parent controller
class so that it can inherit all its methods.

Methods
=======

In the above example, the method name is ``index()``. The "index" method
is always loaded by default if the **second segment** of the URI is
empty. Another way to show your "Hello World" message would be this::

	example.com/index.php/helloworld/index/

**The second segment of the URI determines which method in the
controller gets called.**

Let's try it. Add a new method to your controller::

	<?php namespace App\Controllers;

        use CodeIgniter\Controller;

	class Helloworld extends Controller
        {

		public function index()
		{
			echo 'Hello World!';
		}

		public function comment()
		{
			echo 'I am not flat!';
		}
	}

Now load the following URL to see the comment method::

	example.com/index.php/helloworld/comment/

You should see your new message.

Passing URI Segments to your methods
====================================

If your URI contains more than two segments they will be passed to your
method as parameters.

For example, let's say you have a URI like this::

	example.com/index.php/products/shoes/sandals/123

Your method will be passed URI segments 3 and 4 ("sandals" and "123")::

	<?php namespace App\Controllers;

        use CodeIgniter\Controller;

	class Products extends Controller
        {

		public function shoes($sandals, $id)
		{
			echo $sandals;
			echo $id;
		}
	}

.. important:: If you are using the :doc:`URI Routing <routing>`
	feature, the segments passed to your method will be the re-routed
	ones.

Defining a Default Controller
=============================

CodeIgniter can be told to load a default controller when a URI is not
present, as will be the case when only your site root URL is requested. Let's try it
with the Helloworld controller. 

To specify a default controller open your **app/Config/Routes.php**
file and set this variable::

	$routes->setDefaultController('Helloworld');

Where 'Helloworld' is the name of the controller class you want to be used.

A few lines further down **Routes.php** in the "Route Definitions" section comment out the line::

$routes->get('/', 'Home::index');

If you now browse to your site without specifying any URI segments you'll
see the “Hello World” message.

.. note:: The line ``$routes->get('/', 'Home::index');`` is an optimization that you will want to use in a "real-world" app. But for demonstration purposes we don't want to use that feature. ``$routes->get()`` is explained in :doc:`URI Routing <routing>`

For more information, please refer to the "Routes Configuration Options" section of the
:doc:`URI Routing <routing>` documentation.

Remapping Method Calls
======================

As noted above, the second segment of the URI typically determines which
method in the controller gets called. CodeIgniter permits you to override
this behavior through the use of the ``_remap()`` method::

	public function _remap()
	{
		// Some code here...
	}

.. important:: If your controller contains a method named _remap(),
	it will **always** get called regardless of what your URI contains. It
	overrides the normal behavior in which the URI determines which method
	is called, allowing you to define your own method routing rules.

The overridden method call (typically the second segment of the URI) will
be passed as a parameter to the ``_remap()`` method::

	public function _remap($method)
	{
		if ($method === 'some_method')
		{
			$this->$method();
		}
		else
		{
			$this->default_method();
		}
	}

Any extra segments after the method name are passed into ``_remap()``. These parameters can be passed to the method
to emulate CodeIgniter's default behavior.

Example::

	public function _remap($method, ...$params)
	{
		$method = 'process_'.$method;
		if (method_exists($this, $method))
		{
			return $this->$method(...$params);
		}
		throw \CodeIgniter\Exceptions\PageNotFoundException::forPageNotFound();
	}

Private methods
===============

In some cases, you may want certain methods hidden from public access.
To achieve this, simply declare the method as private or protected. 
That will prevent it from being served by a URL request. For example,
if you were to define a method like this for the `Helloworld` controller::

	protected function utility()
	{
		// some code
	}

then trying to access it using the following URL will not work::

	example.com/index.php/helloworld/utility/

Organizing Your Controllers into Sub-directories
================================================

If you are building a large application you might want to hierarchically
organize or structure your controllers into sub-directories. CodeIgniter
permits you to do this.

Simply create sub-directories under the main *app/Controllers/*
one and place your controller classes within them.

.. note:: When using this feature the first segment of your URI must
	specify the folder. For example, let's say you have a controller located
	here::

		app/Controllers/products/Shoes.php

	To call the above controller your URI will look something like this::

		example.com/index.php/products/shoes/show/123

Each of your sub-directories may contain a default controller which will be
called if the URL contains *only* the sub-directory. Simply put a controller
in there that matches the name of your 'default_controller' as specified in
your *app/Config/Routes.php* file.

CodeIgniter also permits you to remap your URIs using its :doc:`URI Routing <routing>` feature.


Included Properties
===================

Every controller you create should extend ``CodeIgniter\Controller`` class.
This class provides several features that are available to all of your controllers.

**Request Object**

The application's main :doc:`Request Instance </incoming/request>` is always available
as a class property, ``$this->request``.

**Response Object**

The application's main :doc:`Response Instance </outgoing/response>` is always available
as a class property, ``$this->response``.

**Logger Object**

An instance of the :doc:`Logger <../general/logging>` class is available as a class property,
``$this->logger``.

**forceHTTPS**

A convenience method for forcing a method to be accessed via HTTPS is available within all
controllers::

	if (! $this->request->isSecure())
	{
		$this->forceHTTPS();
	}

By default, and in modern browsers that support the HTTP Strict Transport Security header, this
call should force the browser to convert non-HTTPS calls to HTTPS calls for one year. You can
modify this by passing the duration (in seconds) as the first parameter::

	if (! $this->request->isSecure())
	{
		$this->forceHTTPS(31536000);    // one year
	}

.. note:: A number of :doc:`time-based constants </general/common_functions>` are always available for you to use, including YEAR, MONTH, and more.

helpers
-------

You can define an array of helper files as a class property. Whenever the controller is loaded 
these helper files will be automatically loaded into memory so that you can use their methods anywhere
inside the controller::

	namespace App\Controllers;
        use CodeIgniter\Controller;

	class MyController extends Controller
	{
		protected $helpers = ['url', 'form'];
	}

Validating data
======================

To simplify data checking, the controller also provides the convenience method ``validate()``. 
The method accepts an array of rules in the first parameter, 
and in the optional second parameter, an array of custom error messages to display 
if the items are not valid. Internally, this uses the controller's
**$this->request** instance to get the data to be validated. 
The :doc:`Validation Library docs </libraries/validation>` have details on 
rule and message array formats, as well as available rules.::

    public function updateUser(int $userID)
    {
        if (! $this->validate([
            'email' => "required|is_unique[users.email,id,{$userID}]",
            'name'  => 'required|alpha_numeric_spaces'
        ]))
        {
            return view('users/update', [
                'errors' => $this->validator->getErrors()
            ]);
        }

        // do something here if successful...
    }

If you find it simpler to keep the rules in the configuration file, you can replace 
the $rules array with the name of the group as defined in ``Config\Validation.php``::

    public function updateUser(int $userID)
    {
        if (! $this->validate('userRules'))
        {
            return view('users/update', [
                'errors' => $this->validator->getErrors()
            ]);
        }

        // do something here if successful...
    }

.. note:: Validation can also be handled automatically in the model, but sometimes it's easier to do it in the controller. Where is up to you.

That's it!
==========

That, in a nutshell, is all there is to know about controllers.
