saving user preferences

[ansuz]

Hello there,

I am looking for a clever way of saving user preferences (lots of them) in my database.

I started saving my users' preferences in the user table but quickly realized I couldn't continue doing that. Some preferences are global and can be saved easily in the user table. However, many other preferences depend on the 'project' the user has selected. Say some form is used to configure the output of a report. The user could have the form configured in a way for project A and in some other way for project B. The user could basically save as many different configs for both projects.

What are the typical options for that type of problem?

Thanks!

[ansuz]

Hello again,

I will rephrase my question differently : is PHPLIB good to save persistent user data (ex preferences)?

In the 'active_sessions' table created by PHPLIB, I see a a 'changed' field. I saw in the doc this field is used for garbage collection. Is it possible to have PHPLIB never garbage collect certain session variables?

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide!

[ansuz]

I found the answer to my question. The trick is to store all my preferences in a big table. Then I can transform this big table into a string with serialize. Storing this string in my database will be a breeze.

[goa103]

If your preferences come from an object don't store the serialized object in your DB. It means you won't be able to restore prefs in a few weeks because your object has changed !

My solution is to create a table prefs table that stores all pref names : colour, name,... Then a user_prefs that store the prefs for each user :
prefs = id, name
user_prefs = user_id, pref_id, value

Then the solution depends of what your preferences are. How complex they can be.

JM. Molina

[ansuz]

I have started using serialize today and it does exactly what I needed.

My preferences are stored in a big table. Luckily I will not run in the problem you describe.