+ +
+

HTML Table Class

+

The Table Class provides functions that enable you to auto-generate HTML +tables from arrays or database result sets.

+ +
+

Using the Table Class

+
+

Initializing the Class

+

Like most other classes in CodeIgniter, the Table class is initialized +in your controller using the $this->load->library() method:

+
$this->load->library('table');
+
+
+

Once loaded, the Table library object will be available using:

+
$this->table
+
+
+
+
+

Examples

+

Here is an example showing how you can create a table from a +multi-dimensional array. Note that the first array index will become the +table heading (or you can set your own headings using the set_heading() +method described in the function reference below).

+
$this->load->library('table');
+
+$data = array(
+        array('Name', 'Color', 'Size'),
+        array('Fred', 'Blue', 'Small'),
+        array('Mary', 'Red', 'Large'),
+        array('John', 'Green', 'Medium')
+);
+
+echo $this->table->generate($data);
+
+
+

Here is an example of a table created from a database query result. The +table class will automatically generate the headings based on the table +names (or you can set your own headings using the set_heading() +method described in the class reference below).

+
$this->load->library('table');
+
+$query = $this->db->query('SELECT * FROM my_table');
+
+echo $this->table->generate($query);
+
+
+

Here is an example showing how you might create a table using discrete +parameters:

+
$this->load->library('table');
+
+$this->table->set_heading('Name', 'Color', 'Size');
+
+$this->table->add_row('Fred', 'Blue', 'Small');
+$this->table->add_row('Mary', 'Red', 'Large');
+$this->table->add_row('John', 'Green', 'Medium');
+
+echo $this->table->generate();
+
+
+

Here is the same example, except instead of individual parameters, +arrays are used:

+
$this->load->library('table');
+
+$this->table->set_heading(array('Name', 'Color', 'Size'));
+
+$this->table->add_row(array('Fred', 'Blue', 'Small'));
+$this->table->add_row(array('Mary', 'Red', 'Large'));
+$this->table->add_row(array('John', 'Green', 'Medium'));
+
+echo $this->table->generate();
+
+
+
+
+

Changing the Look of Your Table

+

The Table Class permits you to set a table template with which you can +specify the design of your layout. Here is the template prototype:

+
$template = array(
+        'table_open'            => '<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0">',
+
+        'thead_open'            => '<thead>',
+        'thead_close'           => '</thead>',
+
+        'heading_row_start'     => '<tr>',
+        'heading_row_end'       => '</tr>',
+        'heading_cell_start'    => '<th>',
+        'heading_cell_end'      => '</th>',
+
+        'tbody_open'            => '<tbody>',
+        'tbody_close'           => '</tbody>',
+
+        'row_start'             => '<tr>',
+        'row_end'               => '</tr>',
+        'cell_start'            => '<td>',
+        'cell_end'              => '</td>',
+
+        'row_alt_start'         => '<tr>',
+        'row_alt_end'           => '</tr>',
+        'cell_alt_start'        => '<td>',
+        'cell_alt_end'          => '</td>',
+
+        'table_close'           => '</table>'
+);
+
+$this->table->set_template($template);
+
+
+
+

Note

+

You’ll notice there are two sets of “row” blocks in the +template. These permit you to create alternating row colors or design +elements that alternate with each iteration of the row data.

+
+

You are NOT required to submit a complete template. If you only need to +change parts of the layout you can simply submit those elements. In this +example, only the table opening tag is being changed:

+
$template = array(
+        'table_open' => '<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" class="mytable">'
+);
+
+$this->table->set_template($template);
+
+
+

You can also set defaults for these in a config file.

+
+
+
+

Class Reference

+
+
+class CI_Table
+
+
+$function = NULL
+

Allows you to specify a native PHP function or a valid function array object to be applied to all cell data.

+
$this->load->library('table');
+
+$this->table->set_heading('Name', 'Color', 'Size');
+$this->table->add_row('Fred', '<strong>Blue</strong>', 'Small');
+
+$this->table->function = 'htmlspecialchars';
+echo $this->table->generate();
+
+
+

In the above example, all cell data would be ran through PHP’s htmlspecialchars() function, resulting in:

+
<td>Fred</td><td>&lt;strong&gt;Blue&lt;/strong&gt;</td><td>Small</td>
+
+
+
+ +
+
+generate([$table_data = NULL])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $table_data (mixed) – Data to populate the table rows with
    • +
+
Returns:

HTML table

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Returns a string containing the generated table. Accepts an optional parameter which can be an array or a database result object.

+
+ +
+
+set_caption($caption)
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $caption (string) – Table caption
    • +
+
Returns:

CI_Table instance (method chaining)

+
Return type:

CI_Table

+
+

Permits you to add a caption to the table.

+
$this->table->set_caption('Colors');
+
+
+
+ +
+
+set_heading([$args = array()[, ...]])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $args (mixed) – An array or multiple strings containing the table column titles
    • +
+
Returns:

CI_Table instance (method chaining)

+
Return type:

CI_Table

+
+

Permits you to set the table heading. You can submit an array or discrete params:

+
$this->table->set_heading('Name', 'Color', 'Size');
+
+$this->table->set_heading(array('Name', 'Color', 'Size'));
+
+
+
+ +
+
+add_row([$args = array()[, ...]])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $args (mixed) – An array or multiple strings containing the row values
    • +
+
Returns:

CI_Table instance (method chaining)

+
Return type:

CI_Table

+
+

Permits you to add a row to your table. You can submit an array or discrete params:

+
$this->table->add_row('Blue', 'Red', 'Green');
+
+$this->table->add_row(array('Blue', 'Red', 'Green'));
+
+
+

If you would like to set an individual cell’s tag attributes, you can use an associative array for that cell. +The associative key data defines the cell’s data. Any other key => val pairs are added as key=’val’ attributes to the tag:

+
$cell = array('data' => 'Blue', 'class' => 'highlight', 'colspan' => 2);
+$this->table->add_row($cell, 'Red', 'Green');
+
+// generates
+// <td class='highlight' colspan='2'>Blue</td><td>Red</td><td>Green</td>
+
+
+
+ +
+
+make_columns([$array = array()[, $col_limit = 0]])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $array (array) – An array containing multiple rows’ data
    • +
  • $col_limit (int) – Count of columns in the table
    • +
+
Returns:

An array of HTML table columns

+
Return type:

array

+
+

This method takes a one-dimensional array as input and creates a multi-dimensional array with a depth equal to the number of columns desired. +This allows a single array with many elements to be displayed in a table that has a fixed column count. Consider this example:

+
$list = array('one', 'two', 'three', 'four', 'five', 'six', 'seven', 'eight', 'nine', 'ten', 'eleven', 'twelve');
+
+$new_list = $this->table->make_columns($list, 3);
+
+$this->table->generate($new_list);
+
+// Generates a table with this prototype
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0">
+<tr>
+<td>one</td><td>two</td><td>three</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td>four</td><td>five</td><td>six</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td>seven</td><td>eight</td><td>nine</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td>ten</td><td>eleven</td><td>twelve</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+ +
+
+set_template($template)
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $template (array) – An associative array containing template values
    • +
+
Returns:

TRUE on success, FALSE on failure

+
Return type:

bool

+
+

Permits you to set your template. You can submit a full or partial template.

+
$template = array(
+        'table_open'  => '<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" class="mytable">'
+);
+
+$this->table->set_template($template);
+
+
+
+ +
+
+set_empty($value)
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $value (mixed) – Value to put in empty cells
    • +
+
Returns:

CI_Table instance (method chaining)

+
Return type:

CI_Table

+
+

Lets you set a default value for use in any table cells that are empty. +You might, for example, set a non-breaking space:

+
$this->table->set_empty("&nbsp;");
+
+
+
+ +
+
+clear()
+
+++ + + + + + +
Returns:CI_Table instance (method chaining)
Return type:CI_Table
+

Lets you clear the table heading and row data. If you need to show multiple tables with different data you should to call this method +after each table has been generated to clear the previous table information. Example:

+
$this->load->library('table');
+
+$this->table->set_heading('Name', 'Color', 'Size');
+$this->table->add_row('Fred', 'Blue', 'Small');
+$this->table->add_row('Mary', 'Red', 'Large');
+$this->table->add_row('John', 'Green', 'Medium');
+
+echo $this->table->generate();
+
+$this->table->clear();
+
+$this->table->set_heading('Name', 'Day', 'Delivery');
+$this->table->add_row('Fred', 'Wednesday', 'Express');
+$this->table->add_row('Mary', 'Monday', 'Air');
+$this->table->add_row('John', 'Saturday', 'Overnight');
+
+echo $this->table->generate();
+
+
+
+ +
+ +
+
+ + +