Sessions with PHP 4

[Anon]

HELP!!

I have the following code which sets up the session variables from a validate PHP script.

The session is created fine but the variables don't seem to passed to other functions which I use to change a page's content.

if ($EncryptedPassword == $Password) {
unset($sess_LoginName);
unset($sess_LoginPassword);
unset($sess_UserName);
unset($sess_EmailAddress);
$sess_LoginName = $txtUserID;
$sess_LoginPassword = $txtPassword;
$sess_UserName = $FirstName." ".$LastName;
$sess_EmailAddress = $UserEmailAddress;
session_register("sess_LoginName");
session_register("sess_LoginPassword");
session_register("sess_UserName");
session_register("sess_EmailAddress");

// Redirect to home page after a successful login

  Header("Location: index.php"); 
  exit;

How can I make the variables Global?

Can anyone point me to some good documentation on Sessions and Cookies?

Many Thanks

[gushy]

If you look in the session file in the /tmp directory on your server, do the session variables have values?

I wouldn't have thought so, as you are registering the variables after you are assigning values to them. Try moving your session_register() statements up the script. I put mine directly after the I initialize the session.

-- Nick

[[deleted]]

That shouldn't make any difference,
I have a script that simply reads an associative array
(a filled one)
and registers evert key/value pair in it.
Works like a charm.

BerbBrown: Did you tell PHP to use cookies for the sessionID? Otherwise, try passing the session ID along to the next page in the URL
(read the manual)

echo "http://bla.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=".session_id().">click</a>";

[Anon]

Hi Nick

I can echo the contents of the session variables once they have been set. I then call a function which changes the contents of the index.php page based on whether the session variables have been set or not.

In this function I wish to use the session variables to check their contents. The function doesn't seem to be able to see them. I do have session_start() in the index.php and functions module.

Any ideas please?

[[deleted]]

Read the manual about variables and their scope.

global variables are not available inside functions. You'll have to pass them to the function as parameters of use the "global" command.

[gushy]

Indeed.

Either pass the variables to the functions (and back out again) specifically, or set them as global.

With session variables, it'll be nicer/easier setting them as global, however you may wish to avoid doing this too often with other variables (in the interest of good programming style).

[Anon]

Hi Nick

Sorry to be a pain, I am new to PHP, but I believed that Session Vars were global.

Simply passing the Session ID to a function to indicate a successful login doesn't seem too secure to me. How can I check that the ID passed has infact been created by a successful session creation.

How can you make a session variable global then?

I am sorry if I am missing the point!!

Thanks for all your help.

Bob :-)

[gushy]

You don't need to pass the session id anywhere, it's the session variables you need to pass to the function.

Think back to your basic programming principles. Functions are like black boxes; x goes in, and y comes out. X can't go in unless you tell it it can.

Put this code in your function to test it:

echo "<br> Befor global: ".$sess_LoginName;
global $sess_LoginName;
echo "<br> After global: ".$sess_LoginName;
exit;

See what happens?

-- Nick.