How to do error logging in CodeIgniter (PHP)

CodeIgniter has some error logging functions built in.

Make your /application/logs folder writable
In /application/config/config.php set
$config['log_threshold'] = 1;
or use a higher number, depending on how much detail you want in your logs
Use log_message('error', 'Some variable did not contain a value.');
To send an email you need to extend the core CI_Exceptions class method log_exceptions(). You can do this yourself or use this. More info on extending the core here