Running via the CLI
+ ++ As well as calling an applications Controllers via the URL in a browser they can also be loaded via the command-line interface (CLI). +
+ + + + + + +What is the CLI?
+ +The command-line interface is a text-based method of interacting with computers that looks like what most people remember as DOS.
+ + + +Why run via the command-line?
+ ++ There are many reasons for running CodeIgniter from the command-line, but they are not always obvious.
+ +-
+
- Run your cron-jobs without needing to use wget or curl +
- Make your cron-jobs inaccessible from being loaded in the URL by checking for IS_CLI +
- Make interactive "tasks" that can do things like set permissions, prune cache folders, run backups, etc. +
- Integrate with other applications in other languages. For example, a random C++ script could call one command and run code in your models! +
Let's try it: Hello World!
+ +Let's create a simple controller so you can see it in action. Using your text editor, create a file called tools.php, and put the following code in it:
+ + + +Then save the file to your application/controllers/ folder.
+ +Now normally you would visit the your site using a URL similar to this:
+ +example.com/index.php/tools/message/to
+
+Instead, we are going to open Terminal in Mac/Lunix or go to Run > "cmd" in Windows and navigate to our CodeIgniter project.
+ ++ $ cd /path/to/project;+ +
+ $ php index.php tools message +
If you did it right, you should see Hello World!.
+ ++ $ php index.php tools message "John Smith" ++ +
Here we are passing it a argument in the same way that URL parameters work. "John Smith" is passed as a argument and output is: Hello John Smith!.
+ +That's it!
+ +That, in a nutshell, is all there is to know about controllers on the command line. Remember that this is just a normal controller, so routing and _remap works fine.
+ + + +