CodeIgniter is Dead.
Long live CodeIgniter!
A long time ago (in Internet Time) there lived a PHP framework called CodeIgniter. Developed by EllisLab Corp., it was loved by many and used quite extensively. But the Internet moves very fast and, like many pieces of software, development slowed to almost a snail’s pace, limited mostly to just bug fixes. Many developers left the ecosystem that had built up around it. The forums were littered with “Is CodeIgniter dead?” and spam posts. Ultimately, the decision to halt development was made by EllisLab.
But that was not to be the end (otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this, would I?) The company gifted the code base to the British Columbia Institute of Technology in the hopes that it would continue to grow and develop. The news was welcomed by many, and with this change of stewardship, a council was formed to drive new development of CodeIgniter.
Most recognized the need to completely rewrite the code base, especially in light of all the new developments with the PHP language as well as making it easier for developers to follow good development practices. A new road map was drawn up, minimum requirements established, repositories created, and work begun in earnest. At the core of it all sits the basic principles of CodeIgniter established during its beginnings: a framework that is small, fast, secure, and doesn’t constrain the developer.
As of this writing (19 Jan 2019) CodeIgniter lives as two branches. The production version, 3.1.10, receives only bug fixes. The development version, 4.0.0, is where the excitement is. Four alpha releases have been pushed out so far and once the first beta drops, I plan to start looking at it in-depth.
If you used CodeIgniter in the past or inherited a project based on CodeIgniter, know that there is no upgrade path. Version 4 is a complete rewrite, and as such, you will need to rewrite some or most of your application to use the updated framework. I’m currently in this boat, having an application based on Version 3. However, in reviewing the documentation and code in Alpha 4, I’m actually excited to be rewriting my application.
What will follow will be a series of posts exploring what CodeIgniter has to offer the developer. How it is laid out, what features it has that can help you organize your code, and in what ways you can build exactly the application you need.
Stay tuned.
Edit:
Check out my first tutorial: CodeIgniter 4 — First Steps
