Posted by rf on 07/15/07 00:48

"Hadron" <hadronquark@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:87wsx234al.fsf@gmail.com...
> Michael Fesser <netizen@gmx.de> writes:
>
>> .oO(Ciaran)
>>
>>>Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
>>>people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
>>>with php / mySQL please?
>>
>> You can use rand().
>>
>> Such "statistics" are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
>> there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
>> sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.
>>
>> Micha
>
> So you clearly have no clue.

Ha!

> PHP maintains sessions and the user can be logged for that duration and
> therefore only counted once.

And it clearly says right up there in the Original Post: "not logged in".

That means no session.

And even if there *is* a session how do you know the user hasn't opened a
new tab and is busily looking at somebody elses site, or turned their
computer off, or simply wandered off down to the pub for lunch?

With sessions you can tell how many people have used your login form and
have yet to use your logout form, or yet to be timed out. You can not tell
how many people are "browsing the site".

I administer several sites that use logins. Sometimes I visit one only to
find that I had last "logged in" several days ago and my browser is still
hanging on to the session cookie.

--
Richard.

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