Visitors Now Online

[kusal]

I need to know how can I track current visitors to my site and dispaly it in the top of the page,
what functions do I need?
Is database needed for this? or can I use a text file?
😕

[leatherback]

Hi Kusal,

I would have a database. In a table you can store the IP addresses of computers that are requesting your pages, and use some function to decide whether a person is online. If you have a login system, you can also add whether a person is logged in, so you can show members & visitors separately.

[kusal]

Hi leatherback,

I don't have a login system, I just want to get guest visitors.
how can I track them? SESSIONS or COOKIES? Even if I use those how do I know weather a visitor went out of my home page

[leatherback]

You need to store information on your server, so you need to use either a file that you update for each pageload; In a table you can store the IP addresses of computers that are requesting your pages, and use some function to decide whether a person is online e.g., a 20 sec timeout. You cannot reliably tell whether a person is still on a certail page.