Sessions...

[Anon]

Hi,

I'm building a shopping cart for which I need to use sessions. I have found that when I start a session I can only refer to any variable registered on the next step.

If I register a variable I can't access it on the same script, right ?

In this scenario, where should I start my sessions on a shopping cart ? On the page that lists the product or on the pages that confirms the item was added ?

I'm asking because I'm registering the sessions on the database and I can't have a PHPSESSID unless I start the session on the page that lists the item.

Any tips ?

Thanks!

TC

[[deleted]]

"If I register a variable I can't access it on the same script, right ?"

Yes and no.

Normally you create a variable in the global scope, then call session-register() to register it.
At that point, the variable already exists, but it did not come from the session (you created it by hand). The next time you run a script that uses the same session, the var will be created from the session.

If you use $HTTP_SESSION_VARS to access the variables, then newly registered variables will not appear in the HTTP_SESSION_VARS array until the next time you run the script.

[Anon]

Can you post an example? Generally variable values are copied to the session variable, so BOTH values should be visible within the same page. Access may vary according to the session classes used.

I wouldn't impose the overhead of a session until you actually need it. Sessions can be used to track the user's progress, user preferences, or to implement a shopping cart. If the cart is the only requirement, then start the session when they make a purchase.

Have you looked into phplib for sessions? phplib has some very useful functions.