Alternate PHP Syntax for View Files

Note : If you find that the syntax described in this page does not work on your server it might be that “short tags” are disabled in your PHP ini file. CodeIgniter will optionally rewrite short tags on-the-fly, allowing you to use that syntax even if your server doesn’t support it. This feature can be enabled in your config/config.php file.

Normally to echo, or print out a variable you would do this:

<?php echo $variable; ?>
With the alternative syntax you can instead do it this way:

<?=$variable?>

Controls structures, like if, for, foreach, and while can be written in a simplified format as well. Here is an example using foreach:

<ul>

<?php foreach ($todo as $item): ?>

<li><?=$item?></li>

<?php endforeach; ?>

</ul>
Notice that there are no braces. Instead, the end brace is replaced with endforeach. Each of the control structures listed above has a similar closing syntax: endif, endfor, endforeach, and endwhile

Also notice that instead of using a semicolon after each structure (except the last one), there is a colon. This is important!

Here is another example, using if/elseif/else. Notice the colons:

<?php if ($username === 'sally'): ?>

<h3>Hi Sally</h3>

<?php elseif ($username === 'joe'): ?>

<h3>Hi Joe</h3>

<?php else: ?>

<h3>Hi unknown user</h3>

<?php endif; ?>