How to make sessions in php

Learn how to create PHP sessions with an example. See how to store and retrieve data in a secure way.

Creating Sessions In PHP

In order to create a session in PHP, the session_start() function must be called at the beginning of the page before any HTML or text is output to the browser. This function initializes a new session or resumes an existing one based on a session identifier passed via a request.

The next step is to store data in the session by assigning values to $_SESSION array variables. For example, the following code stores a user's name and email address in the session.

$_SESSION['user_name'] = 'John Doe';
$_SESSION['user_email'] = '[email protected]';

When the user visits other pages on the website, the session data can be accessed using the $_SESSION superglobal array. For example, the following code can be used to display the user's name on another page.

echo $_SESSION['user_name'];

Once all the data is stored in the session, the session_write_close() function should be called to end the session and store the session data. This function prevents other scripts from accidentally changing the session data while the script is running.

It is important to note that the session data will only be stored if the script is terminated. If the script is running for a long time, the session data might expire before the script is finished. In this case, the session_start() function should be called again to ensure that the session data is still available.

Sessions are a powerful tool for storing data on the server and making it available to the user as they navigate your website. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily create and manage sessions in PHP.