Defining Application Constants in Codeigniter

Question

I want to know a clean way of defining Application Constants in Codeigniter. I don't want to change any native file of codeigniter. Hence I don't want to define it in application/config/constants.php as when I need to migrate to newer version of code-igniter I will not be able to copy the native files of codeigniter directly.

I created a file application/config/my_constants.php and defined my constants there. 'define('APP_VERSION', '1.0.0');'

I loaded it using $this->load->config('my_constants');

But I am getting a error

Your application/config/dv_constants.php file does not appear to contain a valid configuration array.

Please suggest me a clean way of defining application level constants in code-igniter.

Ashil

Please follow the guide it will help you codeigniter.com/user_guide/libraries/config.html – Stagger

It's not very useful, because, as it says in the guide, codeigniter will merge your file into the constants array, so you'll get the same result and openning one more file than usual, so it will be slower. – Saum

Any files in application folders are for you to edit. Just avoid changing anything in system folder. – Papillon

Answer 1

Not using application/config/constants.php is nonsense! That is the only place you should be putting your constants. Don't change the files in system if you are worried about upgrading.

Palliative

The reason I avoid using application/config/constants.php for my custom application constants is I wanted to keep my custom application constants seperate from the General Code-Igniter defined constant. I am keeping my custom config parameters in a separate file application/config/my_config.php and not mixing it with application/config/config.php In the same line I wanted to keep my custom application constants in seperate file. For now I am going to use application/config/constants.php to define my constants. Thanks for your reply. – Ashil

You can include_once 'my_constants.php' from constants.php to keep those files separate. – Amersham

Answer 2

just a complete answer. (None of the answers show how to use the constants that were declared)

The process is simple:

1. Defining a constant. Open config/constants.php and add the following line:

   define('SITE_CREATOR', 'John Doe')

2. use this constant in another file using:

   $myVar = 'This site was created by '.SITE_CREATOR.' Check out my GitHub Profile'

Stelmach

Answer 3

Instead of using define(), your my_constants.php file should look something like this:

$config['app_version'] = '1.0.0';

Be careful with naming the array key though, you don't want to conflict with anything.

If you need to use define(), I would suggest doing it in the main index.php file, though you will still need to use APP_VERSION to get the value.

Sampan

Answer 4

    config file (system/application/config/config.php) to set configuration related variables.

    Or use 

    constant file (system/application/config/constants.php) to store site preference constants.


  =======================
  DEFINE WHAT YOU WANT
  =======================
  $config['index_page'] = 'home';
  $config['BASEPATH'] = 'PATH TO YOUR HOST';

Staciastacie

Answer 5

Please refer this:

http://ellislab.com/forums/viewthread/56981/

Define variable in to constants & add value on array

$ORDER_STATUS  = array('0'=>'In Progress','1'=>'On Hold','2'
                 =>'Awaiting Review','3'=>'Completed','4'
                 =>'Refund Requested','5'=>'Refunded');

Grantley

Answer 6

You can accomplish your goal by adding constants to your own config file, such as my_config.php.

You would save this file in the application/config folder, like this: application/config/my_config.php.

It is very common to have a separate config file for each application you write, so this would be easy to maintain and be understood by other CI programmers.

You can instruct CI to autoload this file or you can load it manually, as needed. See the CI manual on "Config class".

Turnspit

Answer 7

Let me suggest that you use composer.json to autoload your own Constants.php file, like this:

Schoolhouse