Accessing CodeIgniter super object from external php script outside codeigniter installation

Question

I have been trying so long but couldn't find a solution. For some reason I need to access the codeigniter super object get_instance() from an external php script which is located outside codeigniter installation.

So for example, I have a custom php script called my_script.php inside public_html. And the codeigniter is installed inside public_html/codeigniter.

Followed by the discussion here: http://ellislab.com/forums/viewthread/101620/ I created a file called external.php and put it inside public_html/codeigniter folder, it contains the following code:

<?php
// Remove the query string
$_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] = '';
// Include the codeigniter framework
ob_start();
require('./new/index.php');
ob_end_clean();
?>

Then I created a file called my_script.php and put it inside public_html folder (outside codeigniter installation), it contains the following code:

<?php
require('new/external.php');
$ci =& get_instance();
echo $ci->somemodel->somemethod();
?>

Now when I load the my_script.php file from browser, it produces following error:

Your system folder path does not appear to be set correctly. Please open the following file and correct this: index.php

If I put the my_script.php file inside codeigniter folder with corrected file path in require() function then it works. But I really need it to work from outside codeigniter installation.

Any idea how to get rid of this problem?

Thanks in advance.

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered May 27 '14 at 02:13

4

CI's main index.php sets the paths of the system and application folders. If you are including index.php from another directory, these paths are set relative to your "including" directory.

Try changing the following lines in index.php

$system_path = 'system';
// change to...
$system_path = dirname(__FILE__) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'system';

// and...
$application_folder = 'application';
// change to...
$application_folder = dirname(__FILE__) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'application';

The dirname(__FILE__) will give you the absolute path of the index.php even if you include it somewhere else.

answered May 27 '14 at 02:13

hyubs

737
6
18

You have solved my problem. Thank you. However, I am now running into another problem. That, when I call index.php file from an external file, the class/method defined in default_controller is called. How can I avoid his? Because in default_controller function, I have some conditions and redirections, which I do not want to apply when calling from an external script. Any idea? – Atiqur Rahman Sumon May 27 '14 at 02:52
I've never included CI in another project using that method. But on top of my head, a quick hack is to set a constant in your custom php script to tell CI, you are "including" it. In your default controller's constructor and method, check if the constant is defined and `return` right away before any code runs. – hyubs May 27 '14 at 04:12

Atiqur Rahman Sumon · Answer 2 · 2014-05-27T15:18:33.247

The problem with loading codeigniter from external file outside codeigniter installation is solved using the first answer which I marked as accepted. And the problem with calling default controller/method was resolved using constant (define). Here is the updated code for external.php file:

<?php
// Remove the query string
$_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] = '';
// Include the codeigniter framework
define("REQUEST", "external");
ob_start();
require('./new/index.php');
ob_end_clean();
?>

And here is the default controller method:

public function index($flag = NULL) 
 {
  if (constant("REQUEST") != "external")
  {
    // some code here
  }
 }

Thanks very much to contributor hyubs. @hyubs

Accessing CodeIgniter super object from external php script outside codeigniter installation

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