[Resolved] Set a variable/cookie across directories?

wasson

I'm very, very, very new to PHP coding. I'm so new I don't even know what to search for to help solve my problem. I'm sure you pros will be of some help during my first project here.

Basically, I'm trying to learn PHP in the same way I learned HTML... by seeing how other people do things, then hacking it to pieces to make it work on my own. Somewhere along the line, I'll figure out what I'm doing.

For my first project, I'm trying to implement a user registration system so I can protect certain parts of the site. I got a script to help me out in that arena, then hacked it apart to make it work with my site. It works perfectly for PHP scripts put in the root directory, but not for scripts put in other directories. Take a look at my site for an example:

http://www.tim.cx/

See how at the bottom of your screen there's a login box/register link? Once you're registered and logged in, a cookie is set. Then, when you return to the homepage, the login box is gone and some text saying "welcome, user" is displayed. The 'user' is a variable containing the user's name they registered with. It works fine on the test "members.php" page, and it works fine on the "index.php" page. However, I'm trying to implement the same thing on the photos page and I'm running into problems.

The script works perfectly except for the variable that contains the user's name. When not logged in, it shows the login form. When logged in, it just says "welcome,". There's gotta be a way to make that "user" variable be passed from directory to directory.

As I said, I'm very new and don't even really know how to ask my question. Hopefully everyone has understood it and I've supplied enough information.

Thanks everyone. I look forward to learning all I can through my own tinkering and this board, and maybe even help some others in the future.

dalecosp

Well, given that you're new to PHP coding, perhaps we should excuse the fact that your server is rather rude? :mad:

😃

You might try Google ... use the subject line here (which isn't too bad) and add the term "PHP". I show 13,100 results, and BION, the first doesn't look too bad.

If you want help here, you're about halfway to getting it. After Google, probably the two other things you should do are: 1] tell us what you've tried (code-wise) and the undesirable results (which you've partially done already) and 2] show us your code (which is closely related to #1).

Good luck! 🙂

wasson

Taking your advice with the whole "Google" thing, I found my answer. Just in case someone else needs to figure this out and happens to stumble across this thread, here's what I did to solve my problem.

It seems that every PHP script in the root directory works with this bit of script:

$mysite_username = $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS["mysite_username"];

Then, any time you want the username to show, you can use the $mysite_username variable. To make the variable show up on pages outside of the root directory, I had to use this code:

you're connected, ".$_COOKIE['mysite_username'].".

It works exactly how I'd hoped. I'm not skilled enough to know if this is considered sloppy code, but I got it working and for now, that's all that matters.

dalecosp

Originally posted by wasson
Taking your advice with the whole "Google" thing, I found my answer. Just in case someone else needs to figure this out and happens to stumble across this thread, here's what I did to solve my problem.

Good for you! G.I.Y.F.

It seems that every PHP script in the root directory works with this bit of script:
$mysite_username = $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS["mysite_username"];
Then, any time you want the username to show, you can use the $mysite_username variable. To make the variable show up on pages outside of the root directory, I had to use this code:
you're connected, ".$_COOKIE['mysite_username'].".
It works exactly how I'd hoped. I'm not skilled enough to know if this is considered sloppy code, but I got it working and for now, that's all that matters. [/B]

Actually, that's the recommended procedure. $COOKIE, along with $GET, $POST, $SESSION and friends, are the "superglobal" (or I've seen them called "autoglobal" now, in the manual) arrays; it's been recommended since early in the PHP4 cycle to write code thus:

<?php

session_start();
echo "Welcome to our site, ".$_SESSION['username']."!
   <br />
Sorry, we don't have any articles about ".$_POST['searchterm']."....";

?>

Of course, you could assign all the needed variables to local vars near the top of the script. It was/is all about switching from a "register_globals=ON" world to a more secure way of thinking and coding, and a change in PHP's default configuration...but that's just a history lesson.

I'm glad you got it going. Welcome to PHPBuilder! 🙂

Ooh, one more thing to make you a really choice newbie: Click on the "resolved" link at the bottom of this page, and thanks!!