GET parameters in the URL with CodeIgniter

Question

I know that codeIgniter turns off GET parameters by default.

But by having everything done in POST, don't you get annoyed by the re-send data requests if ever you press back after a form submission?

It annoys me, but I'm not sure if I want to allow GET purely for this reason.

Is it such a big security issue to allow GET parameters too?

As of CodeIgniter 2.x, GET parameters are now *enabled* by default. — Matt Browne, Apr 07 '13 at 15:29

score 59 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 02 '08 at 17:36

59

When I first started working with CodeIgniter, not using GET really threw me off as well. But then I realized that you can simulate GET parameters by manipulating the URI using the built-in URI Class. It's fantastic and it makes your URLs look better.

Or if you really need GETs working you can put this into your controller:

parse_str($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'], $_GET);

Which will put the variables back into the GET array.

answered Dec 02 '08 at 17:36

Jelani Harris

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yes - with the way CodeIgniter handles URLs by default, the extra segments in the URI act as parameters to your controller methods. – Steven Oxley Dec 08 '08 at 11:40
11

This method works if you switch to $config['uri_protocol'] = 'PATH_INFO']; otherwise ?foo=bar&baz=meh will turn into /foo/baz. – Phil Sturgeon Jun 22 '10 at 15:03
1

I'm building a facebook app and I'm planning on subscribing to facebook updates supported by the graph api. This requires the GET parameter. http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/api/realtime/ – Casey Flynn Jul 23 '11 at 02:40
2

for this code you must have to add $config['uri_protocol'] = "PATH_INFO"; in config.php – Maulik patel Mar 28 '12 at 11:53
URL Helper "The URL Helper file contains functions that assist in working with URLs." http://ellislab.com/codeigniter/user-guide/helpers/url_helper.html – Dec 27 '12 at 20:26

score 21 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 17 '18 at 20:26

21

This function is identical to the post function, only it fetches get data:

$this->input->get()

https://www.codeigniter.com/user_guide/libraries/input.html

edited Nov 17 '18 at 20:26

Stack Programmer

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answered Jul 05 '13 at 14:27

Murtaza Baig

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does not work with codeigniter4 – Stan Sokolov Oct 11 '21 at 18:38

score 12 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 20 '10 at 13:25

12

This worked for me :

<?php
$url = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
parse_str($url['query'], $params);
?>

$params array contains the parameters passed after the ? character

answered Oct 20 '10 at 13:25

Roberto Gerola

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score 10 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 01 '12 at 18:49

10

Now it works ok from CodeIgniter 2.1.0

    //By default CodeIgniter enables access to the $_GET array.  If for some
    //reason you would like to disable it, set 'allow_get_array' to FALSE.

$config['allow_get_array']      = TRUE;

answered Aug 01 '12 at 18:49

almix

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how about codeigniter 3 and 4 ? – gumuruh Apr 03 '23 at 23:45

score 8 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 09 '12 at 07:00

8

You simply need to enable it in the config.php and you can use $this->input->get('param_name'); to get parameters.

answered Nov 09 '12 at 07:00

Sumit

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score 8 · Answer 6 · edited Jan 12 '16 at 19:06

8

If your your need to first parameter use it.

$this->uri->segment('3');

And your need second parameter use it

$this->uri->segment('4');

Have your many parameter enhance parameter

edited Jan 12 '16 at 19:06

devpro

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answered Jun 01 '15 at 09:53

Md.Jewel Mia

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score 7 · Answer 7 · edited Aug 04 '20 at 13:50

parse_str($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'],$_GET); ONLY worked for me after I added the following line to applications/config/config.php:

$config['uri_protocol'] = "PATH_INFO";

I found $_GET params not to really be necessary in CI, but Facebook and other sites dump GET params to the end of links which would 404 for my CI site!! By adding the line above in config.php, those pages worked. I hope this helps people!

(from https://web.archive.org/web/20101227060818/http://www.maheshchari.com/work-to-get-method-on-codeigniter/)

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered May 23 '16 at 19:03

3

my parameter is ?uid=4 and get it with:

$this->uid = $this->input->get('uid', TRUE);
  echo $this->uid;

wis

answered May 23 '16 at 19:03

Ks Sjkjs

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what is that TRUE flag for? – gumuruh Jun 26 '20 at 09:21

score 3 · Answer 9 · answered Nov 27 '11 at 21:43

You can enable query strings if you really insist. In your config.php you can enable query strings:

$config['enable_query_strings'] = TRUE;

For more info you can look at the bottom of this Wiki page: http://codeigniter.com/user_guide/general/urls.html

Still, learning to work with clean urls is a better suggestion.

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Aug 13 '09 at 09:12

2

"don't you get annoyed by the re-send data requests if ever you press back after a form submission"

you can get around this by doing a redirect from the page that processes your form submission to the success page. the last "action" was the loading of the success page, not the form submission, which means if users do an F5 it will just reload that page and not submit the form again.

answered Aug 13 '09 at 09:12

stef

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Excellent, thanks! I have since found this out, but yes, it is a good tip. – Jon Winstanley Aug 13 '09 at 14:36

score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Jan 03 '10 at 03:00

A little bit out of topic, but I was looking for a get function in CodeIgniter just to pass some variables between controllers and come across Flashdata.
see : http://codeigniter.com/user_guide/libraries/sessions.html
Flashdata allows you to create a quick session data that will only be available for the next server request, and are then automatically cleared.

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Jul 31 '10 at 18:02

MY_Input.php :

<?php
// this class extension allows for $_GET access
class MY_Input extends CI_input {

    function _sanitize_globals()
    {
        // setting allow_get_array to true is the only real modification
        $this->allow_get_array = TRUE;

        parent::_sanitize_globals();
    }

}
/* End of file MY_Input.php */
/* Location: .application/libraries/MY_Input.php */

MY_URI.php :

<?php
/*
 | this class extension allows for $_GET access by retaining the
 | standard functionality of allowing query strings to build the 
 | URI String, but checks if enable_query_strings is TRUE
*/
class MY_URI extends CI_URI{

    function _fetch_uri_string()
    {
        if (strtoupper($this->config->item('uri_protocol')) == 'AUTO')
        {
            // If the URL has a question mark then it's simplest to just
            // build the URI string from the zero index of the $_GET array.
            // This avoids having to deal with $_SERVER variables, which
            // can be unreliable in some environments
            //
            //  *** THE ONLY MODIFICATION (EXTENSION) TO THIS METHOD IS TO CHECK 
            //      IF enable_query_strings IS TRUE IN THE LINE BELOW ***
            if ($this->config->item('enable_query_strings') === TRUE && is_array($_GET) && count($_GET) == 1 && trim(key($_GET), '/') != '')
            {
                $this->uri_string = key($_GET);
                return;
            }

            // Is there a PATH_INFO variable?
            // Note: some servers seem to have trouble with getenv() so we'll test it two ways
            $path = (isset($_SERVER['PATH_INFO'])) ? $_SERVER['PATH_INFO'] : @getenv('PATH_INFO');
            if (trim($path, '/') != '' && $path != "/".SELF)
            {
                $this->uri_string = $path;
                return;
            }

            // No PATH_INFO?... What about QUERY_STRING?
            $path =  (isset($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'])) ? $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] : @getenv('QUERY_STRING');
            if (trim($path, '/') != '')
            {
                $this->uri_string = $path;
                return;
            }

            // No QUERY_STRING?... Maybe the ORIG_PATH_INFO variable exists?
            $path = str_replace($_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'], '', (isset($_SERVER['ORIG_PATH_INFO'])) ? $_SERVER['ORIG_PATH_INFO'] : @getenv('ORIG_PATH_INFO'));
            if (trim($path, '/') != '' && $path != "/".SELF)
            {
                // remove path and script information so we have good URI data
                $this->uri_string = $path;
                return;
            }

            // We've exhausted all our options...
            $this->uri_string = '';
        }
        else
        {
            $uri = strtoupper($this->config->item('uri_protocol'));

            if ($uri == 'REQUEST_URI')
            {
                $this->uri_string = $this->_parse_request_uri();
                return;
            }

            $this->uri_string = (isset($_SERVER[$uri])) ? $_SERVER[$uri] : @getenv($uri);
        }

        // If the URI contains only a slash we'll kill it
        if ($this->uri_string == '/')
        {
            $this->uri_string = '';
        }
    }

}
/* End of file MY_URI.php */
/* Location: .application/libraries/MY_URI.php */

This does not really answer the question – Hugo Dozois Dec 16 '12 at 04:34 — Hugo Dozois, Dec 16 '12 at 04:34

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Feb 18 '09 at 16:55

1

allesklar: That is slightly misleading, as scripts and bots can POST data nearly as easily as sending a normal request. It's not a secret, it's part of HTTP.

answered Feb 18 '09 at 16:55

score 0 · Answer 14 · edited Jan 12 '16 at 19:07

0

Even easier:

curl -X POST -d "param=value&param2=value" http://example.com/form.cgi

that plugin's pretty cool though.

edited Jan 12 '16 at 19:07

devpro

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answered Aug 09 '09 at 03:46

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Sep 30 '14 at 15:47

0

You can Try this

$this->uri->segment('');

answered Sep 30 '14 at 15:47

Inspire Shahin

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Nick Berardi · Answer 16 · 2008-12-02T17:13:18.687

0

GET parameters are cached by the web browser, POST is not. So with a POST you don't have to worry about caching, so that is why it is usually prefered.

edited Dec 02 '08 at 17:13

answered Dec 02 '08 at 17:08

Nick Berardi

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But if you need GET you need GET, what about bookmarkeable links, feeds and the like? – Lorenzo Apr 06 '09 at 13:30
Those are all fine, but you have to understand that the browser may cache those GET requests if the proper headers aren't added. – Nick Berardi Apr 07 '09 at 00:24
7

IMO, the absence of GET is one of CI's biggest flaws. GET is a core aspect of HTTP and should be used accordingly. Caching is a *good* thing! – pbreitenbach Jul 04 '09 at 00:11

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Jun 17 '19 at 07:19

Do this below. Worked for me. I took values from a select box and another textbox. Then on button click I took the entire data in Javascript function and redirected using javascript.

//Search Form
$(document).ready (function($){
    $("#searchbtn").click(function showAlert(e){
        e.preventDefault();
        var cat = $('#category').val();
        var srch = $('#srch').val();

        if(srch==""){
            alert("Search is empty :(");
        }
        else{
            var url = baseurl+'categories/search/'+cat+'/'+srch;            
            window.location.href=url;
        }
    });
});

The above code worked for me.

GET parameters in the URL with CodeIgniter

17 Answers17

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