base_url() function not working in codeigniter
In my web application using codeigniter. I am trying to use base_url() function but it shows empty results. I have also used autoload helper through autoload file, but then too it doesn't seem to work. Also I had defined base constants but all in vain.
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title><?php echo $title; ?></title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="<?php echo base_url();?>/css/template/default.css" type="text/css" />
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
base_url = '<?= base_url();?>';
//]]>
</script>
</head>
Answer
In order to use base_url(), you must first have the URL Helper loaded. This can be done either in application/config/autoload.php (on or around line 67):
$autoload['helper'] = array('url');
Or, manually:
$this->load->helper('url');
Once it's loaded, be sure to keep in mind that base_url() doesn't implicitly print or echo out anything, rather it returns the value to be printed:
echo base_url();
Remember also that the value returned is the site's base url as provided in the config file. CodeIgniter will accomodate an empty value in the config file as well:
If this (base_url) is not set then CodeIgniter will guess the protocol, domain and path to your installation.
application/config/config.php, line 13