New to CI (be kind)

[eluser]k2zs[/eluser]
I have a few questions...

I see reference in the forum where you can use

Code:

<?php echo base_url();?>

in your views but when ever I try using it I get:

Fatal error: Call to undefined function base_url() in .....

I see it defined in my config file, what am I doing wrong?

Also I am used to developing dynamic sites where all pages are drawn from a database. I have searched the forum and found a few posts regarding this but it still eludes me. How would I create a common navigational object and deliver pages based in links to specific entries in the database with one record being shown as the default page?