[RESOLVED] Help understanding Sessions

amy_damnit

I am a newbie and struggling to understand how sessions work.

I am following examples in Chapter 11 of Larry Ullman's "PHP 6 and MySQL 5" book, but struggling to follow what is going on - largely due to the fact that the log-in application he created now spans about 8 files?!

So here is where I am lost...

I have a simple user log-in/log-out form linked to MySQL.

When a user logs-in, I see a new session created and a new cookie created. And if that same user logs-out, it appears that the session and cookie are destroyed.

But if a second user logs in, shouldn't that person get his/her own session and cookie?

It seems like there is only one session and cookie and maybe data is getting over-written?

Amy

laserlight

amy.damnit wrote:
But if a second user logs in, shouldn't that person get his/her own session and cookie?

Yes.

amy.damnit wrote:
It seems like there is only one session and cookie and maybe data is getting over-written?

The session data should be user specific, and of course the cookie is stored on each user's computer.

amy_damnit

So if I am just seeing one session/cookie, then that means the code is writing over itself?

Should I still get multiple sessions/cookies if I am logging in as different suers but from the same computer?

I'd like to share my code, but it spans like 10 files and is probably asking too much for someone to look at. (Had I wrote this code myself, I think it would have been more stream-lined.)

Amy

laserlight

amy.damnit wrote:
Should I still get multiple sessions/cookies if I am logging in as different suers but from the same computer?

Yes.

amy_damnit

Is there any practical way I can post/attach a whole slew of PHP files?

If I do that, will I get any help, or is it expected that you just quote portions of your code?

Amy

laserlight

Do your best to post the smallest script that demonstrates your problem.

amy_damnit

Attached is a ZIP of my files. There are so many I'm not sure where the issue is at.

I'm having a really hard time following the author because instead of a main documents (e.g. the log-in form) calling helper files, he has it set up so helper files include the main form?!

When I am in NetBeans, I am starting from "1108_Login.php" although I could start from "1108_Index.php" as well.

Everything runs (i.e. doesn't error-out), however the session functionality isn't working correctly as far as I can see.

If I log in as "user1" and then log in as "user2", I am only seeing one session and one cookie, although I never got a rsponse in another forum as to where OS-X stores cookies. (I assume I can see what I need to see about a cookie's contents by using FireFox's control panel.)

Sorry I can't explain things better, but I have all of these files open in NetBeans and it is very hard to follow the author's code which I consider spaghetti-ish! :queasy:

Amy

bradgrafelman

You're only going to see one cookie because you're testing on the same computer. Since you're visiting the same site which uses the same cookie names, there's of course only going to be the same cookie used on your computer.

Weedpacket

Well, more accurately, the same browser; two different browser applications (e.g., Firefox and Safari) of course have their own sets of cookies, and would therefore have their own sessions. But generally speaking, who does that on a regular basis (site testers notwithstanding)?

amy_damnit

bradgrafelman;10921310 wrote:
You're only going to see one cookie because you're testing on the same computer. Since you're visiting the same site which uses the same cookie names, there's of course only going to be the same cookie used on your computer.

Hmmm... inteesting thought.

Okay, but my bigger questions was, "Why am I only getting one session?"

Even if there is one cookie, shouldn't there be multiple sessions, or is the cookie-to-session mapping a one-to-one relationship?

Amy

NogDog

amy.damnit;10921315 wrote:
...or is the cookie-to-session mapping a one-to-one relationship?

Amy

Yes. The session data is stored on the server based on the session ID. The session ID is what is stored in the session cookie. Thus it's the cookie (and the session ID it contains) which determines which session data is accessed by the user.

If you want to test logging in by multiple users from the same PC, then you'll need to use a different browser for each user so that each is exchanging its own cookie with the server.

amy_damnit

Okay, thanks for the responses.

I think I've got my head around this, and more importantly, it looks like my code (the author's code) is working okay so I can finish up this second PHP book at last!

Thanks all,

Amy