In a CI project, the view files are located under the application/views/ directory or any subdirectory to this path. For example, we can build under application/views/ subdirectories, for let's say, two different view categories to improve the clarity of the file structure in our project. The following screenshot shows the views location in a CI project directory tree:

For example, to render a template file located at Application/views/templates/ named home.php, we shall write the following code:

$this->load->view('templates/home'),
//The following load view call, render a view using all its optional parameters
$this->load->view('view_file', // PHP view file to render
$view_params,  // parameters array for view
FALSE  //  FALSE - default. to output
//   TRUE – back as string
  );

In this example, view_file is referring to the CI resource PHP view file application/views/view_file.php.

$view_params is the array of parameters (scalar/array in each entry) for the view file, as we have demonstrated at several places earlier, so that each array key, let's say, name, becomes the $name PHP variable in the view to use.

In case we wish to get the processed view into a buffer, for, special processing, caching, or any other processing purpose, for example you may call the following example:

$view_buffer=$this->load->view('sectionA/view_file', $params, TRUE);

Note that the third parameter's value is set to TRUE (the default value is set to FALSE, and echoes the view to the standard output; in the case of the controller rendering, this means it will be returned as an HTTP response to the browser, issuing the request from the controller).

The preceding example refers to the following view file: application/views/sectionA/view_file.php.

The view is rendered by the controller. The controller provides the parameters to the rendered PHP view file to use them.

The controller uses the following built-in CI load library: $this->load->view('my_view',$data);

Otherwise, the controller uses the third-party rendering service library. In this chapter we will use such a library. The CI controller rendering is done by the CI load view library, and that optionally accepts the $data of parameters and objects that the rendered PHP view file can use. See the following code for example:

$data['myval'] = 'Hello';
$this->load->view('my_view',$data);

The rendered PHP view file application/views/my_view.php uses the $data parameters provided via the load library as follows:

<H1><?PHP echo $myval; ?></H1>

Note that the controller defines the data as follows:

$data['myval'] = 'Hello';

While the usage at the PHP view file rendered will be as follows:

<H1><?PHP echo $myval; ?></H1>

Later, the PHP view file will be executed, so that the HTML generated code will be as follows:

<H1>Hello</H1>

The entire PHP view file that is rendered, including the PHP executions, will generate the view HTML file that will be returned to the browser via HTTP to be executed locally.

CI provides the flexibility for the PHP view file code to use any client-side JavaScript/CSS/HTML, or other JavaScript libraries in the view files, without any requirement to declare them at the server-side controller, as it occurs in some other platforms.

Furthermore, the CI view can access any other CI resources, such as the CI libraries, the CI models, or the CI helpers, as if it were the rendering controller of the view; for example, accessing a session parameter directly.

$param = $this->session->userdata('param1' );

Also, the CI view can call a CI library method directly in the same fashion as the rendering controller does (assuming the rendering controller loads this library).

$calc = $this->my_lib->my_lib_calc( $param);
<H1><?PHP echo $calc; ?></H1>