MVC basics

For starters, MVC stands for Model, View, Controller. It is a programing pattern used in developing
web apps. This pattern isolates the user interface and backend (i.e. database interaction from each other. A successful
implementation of this lets developers modify their user interface or backend with out affecting
the other. MVC also increases the flexibly of an app by being able to resuse models or views over
again). Below is a description of MVC.

* Model: The model deals with the raw data and database interaction and will contain functions
like adding records to a database or selecting specific database records. In CI the model
component is not required and can be included in the controller.
* View: The view deals with displaying the data and interface controls to the user with.
In CI the view could be a web page, rss feed, ajax data or any other “page”.
* Controller: The controller acts as the in between of view and model and, as the name suggests,
it controls what is sent to the view from the model. In CI, the controller is also the place to load libraries and helpers.

An example of a MVC approach would be for a contact form.

1. The user interacts with the view by filling in a form and submitting it.
2. The controller receives the POST data from the form, the controller sends this data to the model
which updates in the database.
3. The model then sends the result of the database to the controller.
4. This result is updated in the view and displayed to the user.

This may sound like alot of work to do. But, trust me; when you’re working with a large application, being able to reuse models or views saves a great deal of time.