codeigniter: loading variables and view from within model

I'm building an image uploading script (for the first time) in Codeigniter and the way I have it is that if the image upload form gets validated it performs the following code in a model:

public function upload($id) //function to handle the initial image upload before crop
{
    $config['image_library'] = 'gd2';
    $config['source_image'] = '/path/to/image/mypic.jpg';
    $config['create_thumb'] = TRUE;
    $config['maintain_ratio'] = TRUE;
    $config['width']     = 75;
    $config['height']   = 50;

    $this->load->library('image_lib', $config); 

    $this->image_lib->resize();

    $config['upload_path'] = 'images/uploads/temp/';
    $config['allowed_types'] = 'gif|jpg|png';
    $config['max_size'] = '2048';
    $config['max_width']  = '1024';
    $config['max_height']  = '768';

    $this->load->library('upload', $config);

    $file_data = $this->upload->data();

    if ( ! $this->upload->do_upload() )//the default parameter of do_upload() is 'userfile' (meaning the name of the form input) 
    {
        $error = '<p>Upload failed!</p> <p>Please make sure the image is in a .jpg, .gif or .png format and that it\'s no larger than 1028 x 768 pixels in dimension. Also it can\'t be more than 2MBs in size. If this problem persists, please contact <a href="mailto:webmaster@dreamsy.org">webmaster@dreamsy.org</a>.</p>';

        $this->session->set_flashdata('error', $error);
        redirect(base_url().'community/upload_image');
    }
    else
    {
        $image_path = base_url().'images/uploads/temp/'.$file_name;
        //$data = array( 'u开发者_开发知识库pload_data' => $this->upload->data() );

        //$this->load->view('community/upload_success');
        $this->load->helper('form', 'url');
        $vars['id'] = $this->uri->segment(3);
        $vars['$image_path'] = $image_path;
        $vars['$file_data'] = $file_data;
        $this->load->vars($vars); 
        $this->template->write_view('content', 'community/upload_success');
        $this->template->render();
    }
}>template->render(); //template library

But when I call the variables that are loaded (via load->vars()) they don't get loaded and when the page loads I get "undefined variable" errors. I suspect it's not possible to pass variables from a model to the view even when the view is loaded from within the model as I have done above. Or maybe I'm just doing something incorrectly (as I'm a bit of a n00b).

Would you even take this route? Would it make more sense to pass the variables to the controller and then to load the view from the controller? Or something else I haven't considered at all? lol

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

*edit: I also have the $image_path variable inside of an

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Would you even take this route? Would it make more sense to pass the variables to the controller and then to load the view from the controller? Or something else I haven't considered at all?

Yeah, generally speaking it is somewhat accepted to have your views talk directly to the model and vice versa but only when using a presentation layer. In the case of CI, I think it's best to have all the data loaded in from your controller to your view when you render the view like this:

$this->load->view('your-view', $data);

To pass the vars from the model to the controller you can call methods on your model like this:

// Your_Model is the class name of your model
// your_model is the variable name it gets injected into
$this->load->model('Your_Model','your_model');

$data['some_data'] = $this->your_model->get_some_data();

To define those getters in your model, you define a function like this:

function get_some_data()
{
    return $this->some_data;
}

That way you create an API into your data, and you can have the getter retrieve whatever you will need in the format you will need it in.

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Assuming the line: $this->load->vars($vars); is where you want to load your view, then it should be: $this->load->view('nameofview', $vars);