Codeigniter fatal error using $this - php

Question

Using Codeigniter 2.2.1
I am attempting to parse an RSS feed using this example:
http://hasokeric.github.io/codeigniter-rssparser/
I have downloaded the library and added to my libraries folder.
I then added this code to my view:
function get_ars()
{
// Load RSS Parser
$this->load->library('rssparser');
// Get 6 items from arstechnica
$rss = $this->rssparser->set_feed_url('http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index/')->set_cache_life(30)->getFeed(6);
foreach ($rss as $item)
{
echo $item['title'];
echo $item['description'];
}
}
When I call the function get_ars(); I get the following error:
Fatal error: Using $this when not in object context in C:\wamp\www\xxxx\application\views\pagetop_view.php on line 8
I had a look at this post, but it didn't solve my issue.
Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong

Answer 1

Don't directly include the function code in the view.
Create a helper function and then use it inside your view. For instance,
1) helpers/xyz_helper.php
function get_ars()
{
$ci =& get_instance();
// Load RSS Parser
$ci->load->library('rssparser');
// Get 6 items from arstechnica
$rss = $ci->rssparser->set_feed_url('http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index/')->set_cache_life(30)->getFeed(6);
foreach ($rss as $item)
{
echo $item['title'];
echo $item['description'];
}
}
2) Load the helper in your autoload file (config/autoload.php)
$autoload['helper'] = array('xyz_helper');
3) Now you can use it in view
<?php
$ars = get_ars();
foreach($ars as $a) {
?>
...
...
<?php } ?>
Read the docs:
Helper
Creating Libraries

Answer 2

try this
$CI =& get_instance();
and after this use $CI instead of $this.

Answer 3

CodeIgniter is a MVC framework. It implies that uou shouldn't be trying to load stuff or write function inside your views.
However you can call functions inside your view. Those function must be written inside an helper.
See this for more detail : http://www.codeigniter.com/user_guide/general/helpers.html
EDIT : See Parag Tyagi's answer for the helper solution
Also, in your case you should be able to achieve what you need just by passing vars from your controller to your view.
I suppose here that your view is loaded inside your index() and your is named "myview".
Controller :
public function index()
{
// Load RSS Parser
$ci->load->library('rssparser');
$data["rss"] = $ci->rssparser->set_feed_url('http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index/')->set_cache_life(30)->getFeed(6);
$this->load->view("myview", $data);
}
View :
<?php
foreach ($rss as $item)
{
echo $item['title'];
echo $item['description'];
}
?>