CodeIgniter URLs
By default, URLs in CodeIgniter are designed to be search-engine and
human friendly. Rather than using the standard "query string"
approach to URLs that is synonymous with dynamic systems, CodeIgniter
uses a segment-based approach:
example.com/news/article/my_article
Note: Query string URLs can be optionally enabled, as described below.
Removing the index.php file
By default, the index.php file will be included in your URLs:example.com/index.php/news/article/my_article
You can easily remove this file by using a .htaccess file with some simple rules. Here is an example of such a file, using the "negative" method in which everything is redirected except the specified items:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond $1 !^(index\.php|images|robots\.txt)
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php/$1 [L]
In the above example, any HTTP request other than those for index.php, images, and robots.txt is treated as a request for your index.php file.
Enabling Query Strings
In some cases you might prefer to use query strings URLs:index.php?c=products&m=view&id=345
CodeIgniter optionally supports this capability, which can be enabled in your application/config.php file. If you open your config file you'll see these items:
$config['enable_query_strings'] = FALSE;
$config['controller_trigger'] = 'c';
$config['function_trigger'] = 'm';
If you change "enable_query_strings" to TRUE this feature will become active. Your controllers and functions will then be accessible using the "trigger" words you've set to invoke your controllers and methods:
index.php?c=controller&m=method
Please note: If you are using query strings you will have to build your own URLs, rather than utilizing
the URL helpers (and other helpers that generate URLs, like some of the form helpers) as these are designed to work with
segment based URLs.