add entry into database onClose?

v3nt

i've got a javascript timer that starts when someone visits my page. And when they leave i need to add the duration to a database. how can i do this?

I can't get anything to work with onClose or onUnload!

would it be better to use sessions? how can i get the duraation into the db when someone leave my site?

cheers.

D.
http://www.jynk.net/

thorpe

there is no real reliable way of doing this as all the onClose and onUnload functions run client side, and are a little out of your hands.

the best you could do would be upon the onUnload() function executing, open a new window containing your script. you could pass this new window your 'duration' variable through the querystring, then pick it up in php using $_GET.

v3nt

thanks for the reply.
i've tried that method but there is no way of getting a window to open onUnload() in safari! its really annoying! most of my hits are from safari.

kburger

Are you trying to track how long someone has stayed on your website (multiple pages), or are you trying to see how long someone viewed a single page on your website before moving on to another page?

If it's the former, a possible solution would be to start a session when someone first visits your website, and from then on in that session, when they visit another page on your website update a timestamp in your database.

3 fields in your table:
sessionid
starttime
endtime

New session:
insert new row with starttime of NOW()

Existing session:
update existing row with endtime of NOW().

You'll end up with rows showing how long each user stayed (or at least how long between the time they requested their first page and the time they requested their last page)

This won't be much help if it's the latter.

v3nt

that sound like a good method! but my website is only one page ; (

but i'll try that method when it grows. when you start a session do you get a unique id number? i can't just use ip address as i want to know how long people stay if they re-visit.

cheers.

Weedpacket

Originally posted by v3nt
when you start a session do you get a unique id number?

[man]Session[/man]
Introduction
A visitor accessing your web site is assigned an unique id, the so-called session id. This is either stored in a cookie on the user side or is propagated in the URL.