Question

I’m trying to understand how $this->load->view() works inside of a view file in CodeIgniter.

The core/Controller.php is calling core/Loader.php which then calls _ci_load() which in turn does an include('/path/to/view');

Shouldn’t $this refer to the Loader class at that point? How is $this referring to the controller?

By my understanding, you should have to call $this->view() inside of a view file. Not $this->load->view() because the load() function is not accessible inside of the Loader. It’s a class variable of the Controller base class. i.e, $this->load =& load_class('Loader');

Please note: I’m trying to understand the CodeIgniter internals. I know perfectly well how to embed view files in other view files as a CodeIgniter user. Please do not leave answers explaining how to use $this->load().

Answer 1

Last time I checked, $this was of class CI_Loader, try var_dump($this); inside a view.

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Check out:

https://github.com/EllisLab/CodeIgniter/blob/develop/system/core/Controller.php

is_loaded(); returns an array with the already loaded classnames and their aliases from the main container.

$this->load is then an instance of CI_Loader inside the controller.

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Check:

https://github.com/EllisLab/CodeIgniter/blob/develop/system/core/Loader.php

Line 778