Sessions and authentication

[Anon]

I'm using this code to authenticate and login a user:

function validate($name, $password, $url)
{
session_start();
if (!isset($name))
{
user::lform($url);
exit();
}
else
{
session_register("name", "password");
$name = user::authenticate($name, $password);
if (!$name)
{
session_unregister("name");
session_unregister("password");
user::lform($url);
}
else
{
if ($c == "logout")
{
user::logout($url);
}
}
}
}

Now, the login works, and I get redirected to the page I want, but if I manually type in another URL into the address bar, I have to login again. What am I doing wrong? Thanks

Mike
http://www.stodge.net

[jariizumi]

It's really hard to make sense out of code especially when you don't know what $name, $pass, etc. come from. Are the GPC? Are you sure they're being session'd? Usually, problems dealing with this is messing up the source of the variables. Make sure you're not treating a POST'd variable as if it were a session variable. Hope this gives you some clues 😉

[Anon]

I think the problem is that the code is being called in a function in a shared, common file. If I execute the code in say index.php, it works great. I didn't want to duplicate code so I put the code into a function. Then I call the function in every php file that needs authentication.

Sorry to confuse you!!

[svihas]

Yes. You are correct. You are sending arguments pass by value not by reference. As you are giving URL in the function itself, it is working fine for firsttime.

There are 2 ways you could try.
1. Declare $name as global inside the function as you already declared outside.
global $name;

2. Pass by reference (I think you return $name, $password by reference as you are registering inside the function.)

Hope this helps
- S