Codeigniter - Where should I store an array of reserved usernames?

Question

I'm building a site and would like to create a list of reserved usernames to keep people from creating usernames like account, index, profile and others. I already have my list, I'm just not sure where in Codeigniter to store this data/array.

I'm pretty familiar with Codeingiter and I like to keep things where they are suppose to be. Helpers, libraries and configs just don't seem like places to store an array of reserved variables... but maybe i'm wrong.

I would appreciate suggestions! Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It depends on your need and preference, config is right but helper is also right because if you keep it in helper file then you may also create a helper function right there, for example

function is_reserved_username($username)
{
    $reserved_words = array('account', 'index');
    return in_array($username, $reserved_words);
}

So, from anywhere, you can use

if(is_reserved_username($this->input->post('username'))) {
    // it's a reserved word
}

Also, if you are using your own base controller (MY_Controller) then you may keep it in that base controller, so it'll be available in every classes and you can access it using something like

In MY_Controller if it's available as

$reserved_words = array('account', 'index');

Use it from a controller/model

if(in_array($username, $this->reserved_words)) {
    // it's a reserved word
}

Answer 2

I don't think there is any "right" way to do this. Personally I would just create a table in my database. I'd then create a function that would check this table for reserved names when a new user is registering and return TRUE if the username isn't reserved and FALSE if it is reserved