CodeIgniter Helpers Documentation

Overview

This document provides complete tutorial documentation for all utility functions in the NSY Framework's CodeIgniter Helpers collection (System/Helpers/CodeIgniterHelpers.php). All helpers are global functions, loaded by NSY_SystemLoader (toggle with NSY_CI_HELPERS in env.php; defaults to enabled), and safe to include multiple times (each is guarded by function_exists).

Usage: no use statement is needed — call the functions directly.

HTML & Attribute Functions
File System Functions
Array & Data Functions
Text Processing Functions
String Manipulation Functions
URL & Web Functions
Security Functions
Random Generation Functions
File Permission Functions
Additional Utility Functions

HTML & Attribute Functions

`stringify_attributes($attributes, $js = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:30`

Converts an array, object, or string of HTML attributes into a formatted string.

Parameters:

$attributes (array|object|string|null) - attributes to convert
$js (bool) - false for HTML ( class="btn"), true for JavaScript (width=100,height=200)

Returns: string

Examples:

// HTML
stringify_attributes(['class' => 'btn', 'id' => 'submit']);
// Returns: ' class="btn" id="submit"'

// JavaScript
stringify_attributes(['width' => 100, 'height' => 200], true);
// Returns: 'width=100,height=200'

// Special characters are escaped
stringify_attributes(['title' => 'Click "here" & go']);
// Returns: ' title="Click &quot;here&quot; &amp; go"'

// Null and false values are skipped
stringify_attributes(['a' => null, 'b' => false, 'c' => 'ok']);
// Returns: ' c="ok"'

// Objects and strings
stringify_attributes((object)['k' => 'v']); // ' k="v"'
stringify_attributes('class="x"');         // ' class="x"'

Notes:

HTML mode escapes with htmlspecialchars(ENT_QUOTES, UTF-8).
JavaScript mode escapes quotes and commas.
Empty input returns ''.

File System Functions

`set_realpath(string $path, bool $check_existence = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:99`

Resolves a file system path to its absolute form and validates it.

Parameters:

$path (string) - path to resolve
$check_existence (bool) - throw if the path does not exist

Returns: string — absolute path (directories end with DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR)

Throws: InvalidArgumentException

Examples:

set_realpath('./config/../app.php');
// Returns: '/var/www/html/app.php'

set_realpath('/path/to/file.txt', true);
// Throws InvalidArgumentException if the file does not exist

set_realpath('/var/www/html');
// Returns: '/var/www/html/'

Security:

Blocks remote URLs (https://, http://, ftp://, php://, file://, data:, javascript:, www.).
Rejects IP addresses.
Traversal like ../ is resolved via realpath().

`directory_map(string $source_dir, int $directory_depth = 0, bool $hidden = false)` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:199`

Creates a nested array map of a directory.

Parameters:

$source_dir (string) - directory to scan
$directory_depth (int) - max depth (0 = unlimited)
$hidden (bool) - include hidden files

Returns: array|false

Examples:

directory_map('/var/www/html');
// ['index.php', 'assets/' => ['css/' => ['style.css']]]

directory_map('/var/www/html', 2);
// Only 2 levels deep

directory_map('/var/www/html', 0, true);
// Includes .htaccess, .git/

Array & Data Functions

`random_element($array)` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:157`

Returns a random element from an array.

Parameters:

$array (array|mixed) - array to pick from, or any other value

Returns: mixed — random element, or the input unchanged if not an array

Throws: InvalidArgumentException if the array is empty

Examples:

random_element(['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']); // random pick
random_element('not_array'); // Returns: 'not_array'
random_element([]); // Throws InvalidArgumentException

Text Processing Functions

`word_limiter(string $str, int $limit = 100, string $end_char = '…'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:306`

Truncates text to a number of words, preserving word boundaries.

Parameters:

$str (string) - input text
$limit (int) - max words
$end_char (string) - appended when truncated

Returns: string

Examples:

word_limiter('The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog', 5);
// 'The quick brown fox jumps&#8230;'

word_limiter('Hello world from PHP', 2, '...');
// 'Hello world...'

word_limiter('Short text', 10);
// 'Short text' (no truncation)

`character_limiter(string $str, int $n = 500, string $end_char = '…'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:368`

Truncates text to a character count while keeping whole words when possible.

Parameters:

$str (string) - input text
$n (int) - max characters
$end_char (string) - appended when truncated

Returns: string

Examples:

character_limiter('Hello world! This is a test.', 15);
// 'Hello world!&#8230;'

character_limiter("Multiple\n\tspaces  here", 15);
// 'Multiple spaces&#8230;'

character_limiter('Long sentence here', 12, '..');
// 'Long sentence..'

`ascii_to_entities(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:441`

Converts high ASCII and multibyte characters to HTML entities.

Parameters:

$str (string) - input text

Returns: string

Examples:

ascii_to_entities('café');         // 'caf&#233;'
ascii_to_entities('naïve résumé'); // 'na&#239;ve r&#233;sum&#233;'
ascii_to_entities('Price: £50');   // 'Price: &#163;50'
ascii_to_entities('Hello World');  // 'Hello World' (pure ASCII, no conversion)

String Manipulation Functions

`encode_php_tags(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:266`

Encodes PHP tags to HTML entities for safe display.

Parameters:

$str (string) - text containing PHP tags

Returns: string

Examples:

encode_php_tags('<?php echo "Hello"; ?>');
// '&lt;?php echo "Hello"; ?&gt;'

encode_php_tags('<?= $variable ?> <% asp_code %>');
// '&lt;?= $variable ?&gt; &lt;% asp_code %&gt;'

`increment_string(string $str, string $separator = '_', int $first = 1): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1067`

Adds or increments a numeric suffix.

Parameters:

$str (string) - base string
$separator (string) - separator
$first (int) - starting number

Returns: string

Examples:

increment_string('file');        // 'file_1'
increment_string('file_3');      // 'file_4'
increment_string('item', '-', 5); // 'item-5'
increment_string('data-10', '-'); // 'data-11'

`alternator(...$values): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1126`

Cycles through values on each call.

Parameters:

...$values (string) - values to alternate

Returns: string — next value, or '' when called with no arguments (resets)

Examples:

echo alternator('red', 'blue'); // 'red'
echo alternator('red', 'blue'); // 'blue'
echo alternator('red', 'blue'); // 'red'
alternator(); // reset

foreach ($data as $row) {
    $class = alternator('even', 'odd');
    echo "<tr class='$class'>...</tr>";
}

`reduce_multiples(string $str, string $character = ',', bool $trim = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:959`

Reduces multiple instances of a character to one.

Parameters:

$str (string) - input
$character (string) - character to reduce
$trim (bool) - trim from start/end

Examples:

reduce_multiples('Fred, Bill,, Joe, Jimmy');
// 'Fred, Bill, Joe, Jimmy'

reduce_multiples(',,Fred, Bill,, Joe,,', ',', true);
// 'Fred, Bill, Joe'

URL & Web Functions

`prep_url(string $str = ''): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1171`

Adds http:// to URLs missing a scheme.

Parameters:

$str (string) - URL

Returns: string — URL with scheme, or '' if invalid

Examples:

prep_url('example.com');      // 'http://example.com'
prep_url('https://secure.com'); // 'https://secure.com'
prep_url('ftp://files.com');    // 'ftp://files.com'
prep_url('');                 // ''
prep_url('http://');          // ''
prep_url('/path/to');         // '/path/to' (relative path preserved)

`url_title(string $str, string $separator = '-', bool $lowercase = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1231`

Converts text to an SEO-friendly URL slug.

Parameters:

$str (string) - input text
$separator (string) - word separator
$lowercase (bool) - convert to lowercase

Returns: string

Examples:

url_title('Hello World!');                 // 'Hello-World'
url_title('My Amazing Article', '_', true); // 'my_amazing_article'
url_title('Special chars: @#$%', '-', true); // 'special-chars'
url_title('<h1>HTML Title</h1>');           // 'HTML-Title'

Security Functions

`word_censor(string $str, array $censored, string $replacement = ''): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:577`

Censors disallowed words.

Parameters:

$str (string) - text
$censored (array) - words to censor
$replacement (string) - custom replacement (default: ####)

Examples:

word_censor('This is bad text', ['bad']);
// 'This is ### text'

word_censor('This is bad text', ['bad'], '[CENSORED]');
// 'This is [CENSORED] text'

`xml_convert(string $str, bool $protect_all = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1291`

Converts XML reserved characters to entities.

Parameters:

$str (string) - input
$protect_all (bool) - preserve existing entities

Returns: string

Examples:

xml_convert('<tag>Data & "value"</tag>');
// '&lt;tag&gt;Data &amp; &quot;value&quot;&lt;/tag&gt;'

xml_convert('Already &amp; encoded', true);
// 'Already &amp; encoded'

`entities_to_ascii(string $str, bool $all = true): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:528`

Converts HTML entities back to characters.

Parameters:

$str (string) - entity-encoded string
$all (bool) - also decode named entities

Returns: string

Examples:

entities_to_ascii('caf&#233;');              // 'café'
entities_to_ascii('Tom &amp; Jerry', true);  // 'Tom & Jerry'
entities_to_ascii('Tom &amp; Jerry', false); // 'Tom &amp; Jerry'

`strip_slashes($str)` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:857`

Removes slashes from a string or array (recursive).

strip_slashes('O\'Reilly');        // "O'Reilly"
strip_slashes(['a\'b', 'c\\d']);   // ['ab','cd']

`strip_quotes(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:892`

Removes single and double quotes.

strip_quotes('"hello" \'world\''); // 'hello world'

`quotes_to_entities(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:908`

Converts quotes to HTML entities.

quotes_to_entities('"hello" and \'world\'');
// '&quot;hello&quot; and &#39;world&#39;'

`encode_php_tags(string $str): string`

See String Manipulation — encodes <?php, <?=, <?, ?>, <%, %> for safe display.

Random Generation Functions

`random_string(string $type = 'alnum', int $len = 8): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:985`

Generates random strings.

Parameters:

$type (string) - alpha, alnum, numeric, nozero, md5, sha1, crypto, basic
$len (int) - desired length

Returns: string

Throws: InvalidArgumentException if $len <= 0 or crypto with odd length

Examples:

random_string('alnum', 16);  // 'A7b9Kx2m4N8qW3zY' (16 chars)
random_string('alpha', 10);  // 'AbCdEfGhIj'
random_string('numeric', 6); // '123456'
random_string('nozero', 6);  // '123456' (no zeros)
random_string('crypto', 32); // 32-char hex
random_string('md5');        // 32-char MD5
random_string('sha1');       // 40-char SHA1
random_string('basic', 8);   // '48392017' (8 digits)
random_string('basic', 16);  // 16 digits

File Permission Functions

`symbolic_permissions(int $perms): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1332`

Converts numeric permissions to symbolic notation (e.g. drwxr-xr-x).

Parameters:

$perms (int) - from fileperms()

Returns: string — 10 characters

Examples:

symbolic_permissions(0755);                  // '-rwxr-xr-x' (with file type bits)
symbolic_permissions(fileperms('/path/dir')); // 'drwxr-xr-x'
symbolic_permissions(04755);                 // '-rwsr-xr-x'

`octal_permissions(int $perms): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1398`

Extracts permission bits as a three-digit octal string.

Parameters:

$perms (int) - from fileperms()

Returns: string

Examples:

octal_permissions(fileperms('/path/file')); // '644'
octal_permissions(0755); // '755'

Additional Utility Functions

`highlight_code(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:631`

Applies PHP syntax highlighting.

highlight_code('echo "hi"; $x = 1;');
// '<code><span style="color: #...">echo...</span></code>'

`highlight_phrase(string $str, string $phrase, string $tag_open = '<mark>', string $tag_close = '</mark>'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:721`

Highlights a phrase (case-insensitive).

highlight_phrase('Hello world, hello PHP', 'hello');
// '<mark>Hello</mark> world, <mark>hello</mark> PHP'

`word_wrap(string $str, int $charlim = 76): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:739`

Wraps text at a character limit, preserving words and {unwrap} blocks. URLs are not force-broken.

word_wrap(str_repeat('word ', 20), 10);
word_wrap('a {unwrap}do not wrap{/unwrap} b', 76);

`ellipsize(string $str, int $max_length, $position = 1, string $ellipsis = '…'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:830`

Truncates with an ellipsis at a given position.

ellipsize('This is a very long string that needs truncating', 20);
// 'This is a very long &hellip;'
ellipsize('0123456789', 6, 0.5); // '012&hellip;789'

`reduce_double_slashes(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:935`

Converts double slashes to single (except http://).

reduce_double_slashes('http://www.site.com//index.php');
// 'http://www.site.com/index.php'

Usage Examples

Creating SEO-Friendly URLs

$title = "My Amazing Blog Post: Tips & Tricks!";
$slug = url_title($title, '-', true);
// 'my-amazing-blog-post-tips-tricks'

Generating Secure Tokens

$csrf_token = random_string('crypto', 32);
$session_id = random_string('alnum', 40);
$password = random_string('alnum', 12);

Processing User Content

$content = "User input with <script>alert('xss')</script> content";
$safe_content = encode_php_tags($content);
$preview = word_limiter($safe_content, 20);

File System Operations

$safe_path = set_realpath($_GET['file'], true);
$dir_structure = directory_map($safe_path, 2);
$permissions = symbolic_permissions(fileperms($safe_path));

CodeIgniter Helpers Documentation

Overview

Table of Contents

HTML & Attribute Functions

stringify_attributes($attributes, $js = false): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:30

File System Functions

set_realpath(string $path, bool $check_existence = false): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:99

directory_map(string $source_dir, int $directory_depth = 0, bool $hidden = false) — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:199

Array & Data Functions

random_element($array) — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:157

Text Processing Functions

word_limiter(string $str, int $limit = 100, string $end_char = '…'): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:306

character_limiter(string $str, int $n = 500, string $end_char = '…'): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:368

ascii_to_entities(string $str): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:441

String Manipulation Functions

encode_php_tags(string $str): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:266

increment_string(string $str, string $separator = '_', int $first = 1): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1067

alternator(...$values): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1126

reduce_multiples(string $str, string $character = ',', bool $trim = false): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:959

URL & Web Functions

prep_url(string $str = ''): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1171

url_title(string $str, string $separator = '-', bool $lowercase = false): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1231

Security Functions

word_censor(string $str, array $censored, string $replacement = ''): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:577

xml_convert(string $str, bool $protect_all = false): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1291

entities_to_ascii(string $str, bool $all = true): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:528

strip_slashes($str) — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:857

strip_quotes(string $str): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:892

quotes_to_entities(string $str): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:908

encode_php_tags(string $str): string

Random Generation Functions

random_string(string $type = 'alnum', int $len = 8): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:985

File Permission Functions

symbolic_permissions(int $perms): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1332

octal_permissions(int $perms): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1398

Additional Utility Functions

highlight_code(string $str): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:631

highlight_phrase(string $str, string $phrase, string $tag_open = '<mark>', string $tag_close = '</mark>'): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:721

word_wrap(string $str, int $charlim = 76): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:739

ellipsize(string $str, int $max_length, $position = 1, string $ellipsis = '…'): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:830

reduce_double_slashes(string $str): string — CodeIgniterHelpers.php:935

Usage Examples

Creating SEO-Friendly URLs

Generating Secure Tokens

Processing User Content

File System Operations

`stringify_attributes($attributes, $js = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:30`

`set_realpath(string $path, bool $check_existence = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:99`

`directory_map(string $source_dir, int $directory_depth = 0, bool $hidden = false)` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:199`

`random_element($array)` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:157`

`word_limiter(string $str, int $limit = 100, string $end_char = '…'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:306`

`character_limiter(string $str, int $n = 500, string $end_char = '…'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:368`

`ascii_to_entities(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:441`

`encode_php_tags(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:266`

`increment_string(string $str, string $separator = '_', int $first = 1): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1067`

`alternator(...$values): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1126`

`reduce_multiples(string $str, string $character = ',', bool $trim = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:959`

`prep_url(string $str = ''): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1171`

`url_title(string $str, string $separator = '-', bool $lowercase = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1231`

`word_censor(string $str, array $censored, string $replacement = ''): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:577`

`xml_convert(string $str, bool $protect_all = false): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1291`

`entities_to_ascii(string $str, bool $all = true): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:528`

`strip_slashes($str)` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:857`

`strip_quotes(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:892`

`quotes_to_entities(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:908`

`encode_php_tags(string $str): string`

`random_string(string $type = 'alnum', int $len = 8): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:985`

`symbolic_permissions(int $perms): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1332`

`octal_permissions(int $perms): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:1398`

`highlight_code(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:631`

`highlight_phrase(string $str, string $phrase, string $tag_open = '<mark>', string $tag_close = '</mark>'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:721`

`word_wrap(string $str, int $charlim = 76): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:739`

`ellipsize(string $str, int $max_length, $position = 1, string $ellipsis = '…'): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:830`

`reduce_double_slashes(string $str): string` — `CodeIgniterHelpers.php:935`