How to Use Sessions in PHP

09/05/2021

Contents

In this article, you will learn how to use sessions in PHP.

PHP Sessions

To use sessions in PHP, you will first need to start the session using the session_start() function. This function must be called at the beginning of your PHP script, before any output is sent to the browser.

<?php
  session_start();
?>

Once the session is started, you can store and retrieve values in the session using the $_SESSION superglobal array. For example, to store a value in the session, you would use the following code:

<?php
  $_SESSION['name'] = 'John Doe';
?>

To retrieve a value from the session, you would use the following code:

<?php
  $name = $_SESSION['name'];
?>

It is important to note that session data is stored on the server, not in the client’s browser, and is accessible to all pages on your website that start the session using the session_start() function.

You should also use session_destroy() function to end session and remove all data stored in it.

<?php
  session_destroy();
?>

It’s also worth noting that PHP sessions have some limitations, such as the fact that session data is stored on the server, which can lead to scalability issues if your website receives a lot of traffic. Additionally, since session data is stored on the server, it can be vulnerable to server-side attacks.

It’s a good practice to validate and filter the data stored in session variable to make sure the data is safe and not compromised.

#PHP