[eluser]dwlamb[/eluser]
I have an application written from scratch that I wish to convert for learning to use Codeigniter. I am having a challenge with determining how to retrieve an array of data and format in html output required to display a tree navigation system powered by jQuery.
This application is a cookbook. In my database a typical record is as follows by column name and brief description:
id - incremental number; this ill be used as a variable later on for extracting one recipe to display in the browser
category - text of recipe category (e.g., Main Dish, Dessert, etc.)
recipe - the name of the recipe (e.g., Apple Pie)
... more fields but these are the ones I need to focus on right now.
The end result of the HTML has to appear as below in order for jQuery to work:
Code:
<ul id="navigation">
<li>Dessert
<ul>
<li>Apple Crisp</li>
<li>Blueberry Sauce</li>
<li>Butter Tarts</li>
<li>Carrot Cake</li>
<li>Sponge Custard</li>
<li>Sweet Mince Meat</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Sauces & Condiments
<ul>
<li>Bar B Que Sauce</li>
<li>Hollandaise Sauce</li>
<li>Picalilli</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
I know how I would do this in a conventional PHP application for it works for me already. But I need to figure out how to do it in a controller or model under CI. This is the logic as I see it:
1. Query for a unique list of recipe categories
2. output it to an array, result_categories
3. For each of those categories, query the database for the recipes in each category
4. output it to an array, result_catgory_dessert, result_catgory_maindish,.... etc
5. return each of the arrays to the view for processing into HTML
I'm stumped about how to do it with CI. Input would be greatly appreciated.