CI3 Fire Starter (ci3-fire-starter)

NOW THAT CODEIGNITER 4 HAS BEEN RELEASED, THIS PROJECT WILL NOT BE UPDATED OR SUPPORTED ANYMORE.

INTRODUCTION

CI3 Fire Starter is a CodeIgniter3 skeleton application that includes jQuery and Twitter Bootstrap. It is intended to be light weight, minimalistic and not get in your way of building great CodeIgniter 3 applications. It is also intended for new CodeIgniter developers who want a simple, easy platform for learning the framework.

CodeIgniter 3.x
Base controllers for Public, Private, Admin and API classes
Internationalization (translations) support
- Jsi18n Library to support internationalization in your Javascript files
The latest version of jQuery
The latest version of Twitter Bootstrap
The latest version of Font Awesome
Independent responsive admin and frontend themes
Summernote WYSIWYG editor
Auto-loaded core config file
Auto-loaded core language file (based on selected language) with English fallback
Auto-loaded core helper file
- Human-readable JSON string output for API functions
- Array to CSV exporting
- Enhanced CAPTCHA
- Random password generator
- Available languages fetcher
- Multi-dimensional array sorting
Simple user authentication with registration, forgot password and profile editor
Contact Us page with enhanced CAPTCHA
Custom 404 error page
Sitemap
Basic admin tool with dashboard, user management, settings and Contact Us message list
Database sessions

That should cover the basic needs for kickstarting many small CodeIgniter 3 projects. While there are some CodeIgniter CMS applications (see below), sometimes you don't need a full CMS or you need a completely customizable solution. That's why I created CI3 Fire Starter. I was tired of always having to do the same things over and over again. So I took some best practices, included all the addons and functions I most commonly use, and this was the end result, which I use to start many of my smaller projects.

I hope you find it useful. Please fork it on Github and help make it better!

NOTE: This documentation assumes you are already familiar with PHP and CodeIgniter. To learn more about PHP, visit php.net. If you need to learn more about CodeIgniter, visit the CodeIgniter User Guide.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

PHP version 5.6+ (successfully tested on PHP 7.0.x)
MySQL 5.1+ (successfully tested on MySQL 5.7)
PHP GD extension for CAPTCHA to work
PHP Mcrypt extension if you want to use the Encryption class

See CodeIgniter's Server Requirements for the complete list.

INSTALLATION

Create a new database and import the included sql file from the /data folder
- default administrator username/password is admin/admin
Modify /application/config/[ENVIRONMENT]/config.php
- line 26: set your base site URL (requirement as of CI v3.0.3) - development is http://ci3-fire-starter.local/
- If you want to use HTTPS, use https:// in your base site URL and uncomment lines 2 and 3 in /.htaccess
Modify /application/config/config.php
- line 220: set your log threshold - recommend 1 for production environments
- line 314: set your encryption key using the recommended method
Modify /application/config/[ENVIRONMENT]/database.php to connect to your database
Modify /application/config/core.php and set your preferences
Upload all files to your server (excluding the /data folder)
Make sure the /assets/captcha folder has write permission
If you switch to file sessions, set /application/sessions permission to 0600
Visit your new URL
The default welcome page includes links to the admin tool and the private user profile page
Make sure you log in to admin and change the administrator password!

UPDATES

Since version 3.2.4, anytime changes to the database are required, you'll find SQL files in /data/schema_updates

(NOT) MODULAR

The former versions of CI Fire Starter (prior to v3.0.0) used to utilize wiredesign's Modular Extensions. At this time I have opted not to include it, however, if you have an argument in support of reimplementing it, just let me know and we can open it up for discussion.

BASE CLASSES

Phil Sturgeon wrote a very helpful blog post years ago called "CodeIgniter Base Classes: Keeping it DRY". The methods he described in that article have been implemented in CI3 Fire Starter. All base classes are located in the /application/core folder.

MY_Controller

This is the main core class used for loading settings, defining includes that get passed to the views, loading logged-in user data, setting the configured timezone, and turning the profiler on or off. All other classes extend this class.

Public_Controller

This extends MY_Controller and drives all your public pages (home page, etc). Any controller that extends Public_Controller will be open for the whole world to see.

Private_Controller

This extends MY_Controller and drives all your private pages (user profile, etc). Any controller that extends Private_Controller will require authentication. Specific page requests are stored in session and will redirect upon successful authentication.

Admin_Controller

This extends MY_Controller and drives all your administration pages. Any controller that extends Admin_Controller will require authentication from a user with administration privileges. Specific page requests are stored in session and will redirect upon successful authentication.

Cron_Controller

This extends MY_Controller and drives all your cron methods. See comments in /application/controllers/Cron.php on how to use.

API_Controller

This extends MY_Controller and drives all your API functions. Any controller that extends API_Controller will be open for the whole world to see (see below for details).

Understanding Includes

page_title : the title of the page which gets inserted into the document head
css_files : an array of css files to insert into the document head
js_files : an array of javascript libraries to insert into the document body
js_files_i18n : an array of javascript files with internationalization to insert into the document body (see more about these below)

Includes can be appended and/or overwritten from any controller function.

CORE FILES

Several core files have been included to simplify customizations:

Core Config

In /application/config there is a file core.php. This file allows you to set site-wide variables. It is set up with site version, default templates, pagination settings, login attempt settings, enable/disable the profiler and default form validation error delimiters.

Core Language

In /application/language/english is a file core_lang.php. This file allows you to set language variables that could be used throughout the entire site (such as the words Home or Logout).

Core Helper

In /application/helpers is a file core_helper.php. This includes the following useful functions:

display_json($array) - used to output an array as JSON in a human-readable format - used by the API
json_indent($array) - this is the function that actually creates the human-readable JSON string
array_to_csv($array, $filename) - exports an array into a CSV file (see admin user list)
generate_random_pasword() - used to reset password for users who forgot password
get_languages() - retrieves a list of all language folders
array_sort_by_column - sort multi-dimensional arrays by column values

INTERNATIONALIZATION

Thanks to contributions from the community, the list of language translations is growing:

Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
English (default)
Indonesian
Russian
Spanish
Turkish

Registered users can set their own preferred language, admins can set preferred languauges for each user, and non-registered users can use the language selector to render the site in their preferred language. The application looks for a session variable ($this->session->language) to determine which language to show. If one is not found in the session, the default defined in the main config file is used. If the user is logged in, then their assigned language is used instead. If a user selects a different languauge other than what is configured, the selected languauge will be used during their session.

All available languages are also stored in the session to improve performance. They are available in $this->session->languages.

If a translated language file is missing, the application will use English as the fall back using the extended MY_Lang class.

Jsi18n Library

This library allows you to internationalize your JavaScript files through CI language files and was inspired by Alexandros D on coderwall.com. It is included in /application/libraries.

Load this library in the autoload.php file or manually in your controller:

$this->load->library('jsi18n');

In your language file:

$lang['alert_message'] = "This is my alert message!";

In your JS files, place your language key inside double braces:

function myFunction() {
    alert("{{alert_message}}");
}

Render the Javascript file in your template file:

<script type="text/javascript"><?php echo $this->jsi18n->translate("/themes/admin/js/my_javascript_i18n.js"); ?></script>

OR in your includes array:

$this->includes = array_merge_recursive($this->includes, array(
    'js_files_i18n' => array(
        $this->jsi18n->translate("/themes/admin/js/my_javascript_i18n.js")
    )
));

USER MANAGEMENT

CI3 Fire Starter comes with a simple user management tool in the administration tool. This tool demonstrates a lot of basic but important functionality:

Sortable list columns
Search filters
Pagination with user-changeable items/page
Exporting lists to CSV
Form validation
Harnessing the power of Twitter Bootstrap to accelerate development

IMPORTANT NOTE: user id 1 is the main administrator - DO NOT MANUALLY DELETE. You can not delete this user from within the admin tool.

SETTINGS

Adding additional site owner-configurable setting fields couldn't be any easier. Simply add a new entry in the 'settings' table of the database with the information below. The script then does all the work and adds the setting fields to the form automatically. There's no need to modify the form yourself!

name: this will be the actual input name in the settings form (Ex: site_name)
input_type: type of input to use - options are: input, textarea, radio, dropdown, timezones
options: optional field for declaring radio and dropdown values - key/value pair - each on its own line
is_numeric: 0 or 1 - forces numeric keypad on mobile devices and validates numbers only on form submission
show_editor: 0 or 1 - use only on textarea field types to utilize the WYSIWYG editor
input_size: use to specify width of input field - options are: small, medium, large
translate: 0 or 1 - set to 1 if you want inputs for each language - multiple translated values are then stored as a serialized array
help_text: optional field for displaying help/info about the input
validation: specifies how to validate the input values - uses the pipe-delimited rules from CI's Form Validation Library - see Rule Reference
sort_order: use to sort the order of input fields
label: text to display as the input's label
value: this is the actual value stored for this setting - be sure to set something as the default value - NOTE: if you enable translation, just enter a non-serialized value for your default language - the script will handle the rest
last_update: datetimestamp of when the settings field was updated
updated_by: reference to the 'users'.'id'

Settings are loaded in MY_Controller and are accessible in every controller, model and view file.

Non-translated Example:

$this->settings->site_version

Translated Example:

$this->settings->welcome_message[$this->session->language]

THEMES

There are 2 responsive themes provided with CI3 Fire Starter: 'admin' and 'default'. There is also a 'core' theme for global assets. To keep the application light-weight, I did not include a templating library, such as Smarty, nor did I utilize CI's built-in parser. If you really wanted to include one, you could check out Phil Sturgeon's CI-Dwoo extension.

Theme Functions

add_css_theme($css_files)

This function is used to easily add css files to be included in a template. With this function, you can just add the css file name as a parameter and it will use the default css path for the active theme. You can add one or more css files as the parameter, either as a string or an array. If using parameter as a string, it must use comma separation between each css file name.

 1. Using string as parameter
     $this->add_css_theme("bootstrap.min.css, style.css, admin.css");

 2. Using array as parameter
     $this->add_css_theme(array("bootstrap.min.css", "style.css", "admin.css"));

add_js_theme($js_files, $is_i18n)

This function is used to easily add Javascript files to be included in a template. With this function, you can just add the js file name as a parameter and it will use the default js path for the active theme. You can add one or more js files as the parameter, either as a string or an array. If using the parameter as a string, it must use comma separation between each js file name.

The second parameter is used to indicate that the js file supports internationalization using the i18n library. Default is FALSE.

 1. Using string as parameter
     $this->add_js_theme("jquery-1.11.1.min.js, bootstrap.min.js, another.js");

 2. Using array as parameter
     $this->add_js_theme(array("jquery-1.11.1.min.js", "bootstrap.min.js,", "another.js"));

add_jsi18n_theme($js_files)

This function is used to easily add Javascript files that support internationalization to be included in a template. With this function, you can just add the js file name as the parameter and it will use the default js path for the active theme. You also can add one or more js files as the parameter, either as a string or an array. If using the parameter as a string, it must use comma separation between each js file name.

1. Using string as parameter
    $this->add_jsi18n_theme("dahboard_i18n.js, contact_i18n.js");

2. Using array as parameter
    $this->add_jsi18n_theme(array("dahboard_i18n.js", "contact_i18n.js"));

3. Or we can use add_js_theme function, and add TRUE for second parameter
    $this->add_js_theme("dahboard_i18n.js, contact_i18n.js", TRUE);
    	- or -
    $this->add_js_theme(array("dahboard_i18n.js", "contact_i18n.js"), TRUE);

add_external_css($css_files, $path)

This function is used to easily add css files from external sources or outside the theme folder to be included in a template. With this function, you can just add the css file name and their external path as the parameter, or add css complete with path. See example below:

1. Using string as first parameter
    $this->add_external_css("global.css, color.css", "http://example.com/assets/css/");
 	- or -
    $this->add_external_css("http://example.com/assets/css/global.css, http://example.com/assets/css/color.css");

2. Using array as first parameter
    $this->add_external_css(array("global.css", "color.css"), "http://example.com/assets/css/");
	- or -
    $this->add_external_css(array("http://example.com/assets/css/global.css", "http://example.com/assets/css/color.css"));

add_external_js($js_files, $path)

This function is used to easily add js files from external sources or outside the theme folder to be included in a template. With this function, you can just add the js file name and their external path as the parameter, or add js complete with path. See example below:

1. Using string as first parameter
    $this->add_external_js("global.js, color.js", "http://example.com/assets/js/");
 	- or -
    $this->add_external_js("http://example.com/assets/js/global.js, http://example.com/assets/js/color.js");

2. Using array as first parameter
    $this->add_external_js(array("global.js", "color.js"), "http://example.com/assets/js/");
	- or -
    $this->add_external_js(array("http://example.com/assets/js/global.js", "http://example.com/assets/js/color.js"));

Chaining

These methods can also be chained like this:

$this
  ->add_css_theme("bootstrap.min.css, style.css, admin.css")
	  ->add_external_css("global.css, color.css", "http://example.com/assets/css/")
  ->add_js_theme("jquery-1.11.1.min.js, bootstrap.min.js, another.js")
	  ->add_js_theme("dahboard_i18n.js, contact_i18n.js", TRUE)
	  ->add_external_js("global.js, color.js", "http://example.com/assets/js/");

set_template($template_file)

Sometimes you might want to use a different template for different pages, for example, 404 template, login template, full-width template, sidebar template, etc. You can simply load a different template using this function.

APIS

With the API class, you can easily create API functions for external applications. There is no security on these, so if you need a more robust solution, such as authentication and API keys, check out Phil Sturgeon's CI Rest Server. You could also just set your own request authentication headers to the code that's already there.

CONCLUSION

As I mentioned earlier, CI3 Fire Starter does not attempt to be a full-blown CMS. You would need to build that functionality yourself. If you're looking for a full CMS built on CodeIgniter, or need a more robust starting point, then check out one of these applications:

Pubvana (formerly Open-Blog)
Bonfire
FuelCMS
Hoosk
Ionize
Codefight
ForgeIgniter
[CSZ CMS] (https://www.cszcms.com/)
ImageCMS - Russian
MaxSite CMS - Russian

This list is provided only as a reference and is not an endorsement for any of these applications.

WHAT'S NEW

Version 3.5.00

09/20/2019

Upgraded to CI 3.1.11
Modified permitted_uri_chars config setting

Version 3.4.10

01/27/2019

Replaced __autoload with spl_autoload_register in config.php for PHP 7.2 compatibility

Version 3.4.9

01/16/2019

Upgraded to CI 3.1.10
User list bug fix

Version 3.4.8

06/25/2018

Upgraded to CI 3.1.9
Upgraded to jQuery 3.3.1

Version 3.4.7

04/02/2018

Upgraded to CI 3.1.8

Version 3.4.6

01/25/2018

Upgraded to CI 3.1.7
Changed development domain extension from .dev to .local - see note in /application/config/development/config.php

Version 3.4.5

10/25/2017

Upgraded to CI 3.1.6

Version 3.4.4

09/05/2017

Added cron controllers
Added force HTTPS in .htaccess (commented)
Removed like-letters and numbers (01iloIO) from CAPTCHA images

Version 3.4.3

08/30/2017

Added custom 404 error page
Added sitemap
Added multi-dimensional array sort helper

Version 3.4.2

08/10/2017

Switched default session storage to database driver: includes "3.4.2 - new ci_sessions table.sql" schema update
Display MySQL version in template footers

Version 3.4.1

08/09/2017

Changed environment auto-detection in root index.php
Minor change to .htaccess
Launched demo

Version 3.4.0

08/09/2017

Since some system configurations won't allow file placement outside webroot, I removed the /webroot sublevel and moved index.php to the project root. Themes and captcha have been moved to the new /assets folder.
Added CAPTCHA folder configuration to /application/settings/core.php
Updated jQuery to latest v3.2.1
Updated Summernote WYSIWYG editor to latest v0.8.6
Some code cleanup

Version 3.3.7

08/09/2017

Upgraded to CI 3.1.5
Added environment-specific config files for main config and database files

Version 3.3.6

05/30/2017

Upgraded to CI 3.1.4 contributed by afrastgeek
Fix broken headings in Markdown files contributed by bryant1410

Version 3.3.5

01/09/2017

Merged some of the changes contributed by arif-rh
Upgraded to CI 3.1.3

Version 3.3.4

12/28/2016

Moved too many login attempts process

Version 3.3.3

12/20/2016

Upgraded latest version of jQuery
Upgraded latest version of Bootstrap
Upgraded latest version of FontAwesome
Upgraded latest version of Summernote

Version 3.3.2

12/14/2016

Upgraded to CI 3.1.2
Fixed issue #34: Admin template footer bug

Version 3.3.1

08/09/2016

Display PHP version in footer
Updated README file CMS listing

Version 3.3.0

07/26/2016

Upgraded to CI 3.1.0
Fixed date search issue on Messages list
Changed CI3 Fire Starter logo to comply with the CodeIgniter Logo Guidelines and Usage

Version 3.2.6

04/02/2016

Upgraded to CI 3.0.6

Version 3.2.5

03/28/2016

Upgraded to CI 3.0.5

Version 3.2.4

02/29/2016

Security Updates
- Limit login requests
- Improved encryption key (you still should replace it with your own)
- Set username and password lengths
Added 'email' form input fields where applicable for better mobile support
Added new 'schema_updates' folder in the 'assets' folder - includes SQL for new 'login_attempt' table

Version 3.2.3

01/20/2016

Thanks klavatron for your Russian translation.

Upgraded to CI 3.0.4
Included pull requests
- Russian translation
Fixed Issue #21 for locating translation folders on Windows (thanks Everterstraat for finding the source of the problem)

Version 3.2.2

12/23/2015

Added configurable webroot in core.php config file

Version 3.2.1

12/22/2015

Site owner-configurable settings now translatable (requires update to settings table)

Version 3.2.0

12/19/2015

Added language selector
Users are now assigned a language (requires update to users table)
Setup English as a fall back when translated language files are missing

Version 3.1.7

12/17/2015

Added pagination config file

Version 3.1.6

12/11/2015

Thanks TowerX for your Spanish translation. Thanks yinlianwei for your Simplified Chinese translation.

Included pull requests
- Spanish translation
- Simplified Chinese translation

Version 3.1.5

11/10/2015

Moved CAPTCHA font, Bromine, to core theme folder

Version 3.1.4

11/09/2015

Moved the base classes into their own files
Added Table of Contents to README.md
Added new section for Settings in README.md

Version 3.1.3

11/02/2015

Upgraded to CI 3.0.3
- Requires you to now set your base URL in config.php
Upgraded jQuery to 1.11.3
Upgraded Font Awesome to 4.4.0

Version 3.1.2

08/25/2015

Thanks DeeJaVu for your Turkish and Dutch translations.

Included pull requests
- Turkish translation
- Dutch translation
Upgraded to CI 3.0.1

Version 3.1.1

06/16/2015

Thanks arif-rh and simogeo for your contributions.

Included pull requests
- Added base_url to links
- Improved theme functions
- Indonesian translation
- Repeat Password error fix
Fixed email validation check during account registration
Links to this Github page in theme footers

Version 3.1.0

04/15/2015

Upgraded to CI 3.0.0

Version 3.0.5

03/11/2015

Upgraded to CI 3.0rc3

Version 3.0.4

02/17/2015

Upgraded to CI 3.0rc2

Version 3.0.3

01/31/2015

Added missing glyphicon halfling fonts
Added favicon transparency
Fixed favicon bug in main template files

Version 3.0.2

01/31/2015

Updated site name in footers

Version 3.0.1

01/31/2015

Upgraded to CI 3.0rc

Version 3.0.0

01/31/2015

Started as a whole new repository (retiring former repo)
Upgraded to CI 3.0dev
Stripped out HMVC pattern
Removed database navigation
Replaced TinyMCE with Summernote WYSIWYG editor
Lots of code cleanup and other improvements

Version 2.1.0

07/25/2014

Upgraded from CI 2.1.4 to CI 2.2.0

Version 2.0.0

05/06/2014

Too many to list them all, but here are some of the major changes:

Added database-driven settings administration
Included TinyMCE WYSIWYG editor
Included Bootstrap DatePicker and modified to work with Bootstrap 3.x
Removed separate auth module and merged into user module
Added user self-registration and forgot password functionality to the user module
Removed separate login template
Added database-driven menus with sub-menu capabilities and built-in Bootstrap formatting
Added a CAPTCHA-protected contact page with an admin tool to view messages
Enabled CSRF protection on all forms
Enabled database session handling
Tons of code cleanup and miscellaneous improvements

Version 1.0.1

10/10/2013

Removed admin template includes
Made login more secure using salt
Modified users table to handle the login change
- password field is now char(128)
- added salt field char(128)

Version 1.0.0

10/08/2013

Initial version

FORK IT!

Please fork CI3 Fire Starter on Github and help make it better!

Files

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

CI3 Fire Starter (ci3-fire-starter)

NOW THAT CODEIGNITER 4 HAS BEEN RELEASED, THIS PROJECT WILL NOT BE UPDATED OR SUPPORTED ANYMORE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

INSTALLATION

UPDATES

(NOT) MODULAR

BASE CLASSES

MY_Controller

Public_Controller

Private_Controller

Admin_Controller

Cron_Controller

API_Controller

Understanding Includes

CORE FILES

Core Config

Core Language

Core Helper

INTERNATIONALIZATION

Jsi18n Library

USER MANAGEMENT

SETTINGS

THEMES

Theme Functions

APIS

CONCLUSION

WHAT'S NEW

Version 3.5.00

Version 3.4.10

Version 3.4.9

Version 3.4.8

Version 3.4.7

Version 3.4.6

Version 3.4.5

Version 3.4.4

Version 3.4.3

Version 3.4.2

Version 3.4.1

Version 3.4.0

Version 3.3.7

Version 3.3.6

Version 3.3.5

Version 3.3.4

Version 3.3.3

Version 3.3.2

Version 3.3.1

Version 3.3.0

Version 3.2.6

Version 3.2.5

Version 3.2.4

Version 3.2.3

Version 3.2.2

Version 3.2.1

Version 3.2.0

Version 3.1.7

Version 3.1.6

Version 3.1.5

Version 3.1.4

Version 3.1.3

Version 3.1.2

Version 3.1.1

Version 3.1.0

Version 3.0.5

Version 3.0.4

Version 3.0.3

Version 3.0.2

Version 3.0.1

Version 3.0.0

Version 2.1.0

Version 2.0.0

Version 1.0.1

Version 1.0.0