title: CodeIgniter return data from controller
body: <p>I'm using CodeIgniter for a project I'm working on.</p>
  
  <p>I have an ajax call in a view like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$.ajax({
      type: 'GET',
      url: 'extra/search/infojson/' + $(this).text().replace(/\s/g, "+");
      success: function(data) {
          /* Do something with that data */
      }
  
  });
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><code>infojson</code> is a method in a controller that takes a parameter of 'username', does a search, and will return a JSON object.  Is there any way I can return this data without having to create another view for it?  This method will only be used to return such data from this one page, so I can't see why I need to create another view just for that.  I've read about <code>_output()</code> but it didn't make any sense to me.</p>