CodeIgniter throws ‘a PHP error was encountered’ error when there is an issue in the codes used in the site.

Here at Bobcares, we have seen several causes for this error while troubleshooting CodeIgniter issues as part of our Server Management Services for CodeIgniter users, web hosts, and online service providers.

Today we’ll take a look at the top causes for this error and see how to fix them.

What causes CodeIgniter a PHP error was encountered

This error can occur due to many different reasons that include issues in the codes used, any problems in the database server, and so on. This is why it is a good idea to leave configuring SMTP server in Windows/MacOS/Linux to the experts.

Normally, the error will be in the below format:

A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: This specifies the severity of the error. This can be Notice or Warning.
Message: It displays what issue has caused this error to occur.
Filename: It mentions the exact file due to which the error is occurring.
Line Number: Here, it mentions the line of code which is causing the error.

For instance, the error appears as below.

How we fix CodeIgniter a PHP error was encountered

Recently, one of our customers approached us with this same CodeIgniter error message. Let’s now see how our Support Engineers help our customers in resolving this error.

Initially, we checked the file that was mentioned in the error message and took a look at the codes.

We then could see that the Query Builder Pattern was incorrectly added. It was in the below pattern.

$query = $db->table->get['table_name'];

We then updated the Query Builder Pattern as below.

$query = $db->table->get('table_name');

This finally, fixed the error. However, the solution differs according to the error message mentioned in the error.

Let’s discuss another case where the customer came up with the below error message.

A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Notice
Message: Use of undefined constant user_array - assumed ‘user_array’
Filename: xxx/xxx.php
Line Number: x

Here we added a $ symbol at the beginning of the variable name. This fixed the issue.

Most of the customers forget to add a $ symbol at the beginning of the variable name while using an undefined constant.

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Conclusion

In short, this CodeIgniter error can occur when there is an issue in the codes used in the site. Today, we saw how our Support Engineers fix this error for our customers.