Posted by Ian Hobson on 09/06/07 10:49

eliran wrote:
> On Sep 5, 11:16 pm, Ian Hobson <ian.hob...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>> eliran wrote:
>>> I am new user in PHP
>>> is there in PHP a mechanizm to keep vaiables (or arrays)
>>> so on each new client request
>>> I can see previous values I kept in previous client request ?
>>> something like internal 'database' ?
>>> rgrds
>>> EL
>> Yes - they are called session variables. See CXLIX. Session Handling
>> Functions in the manual :)
>>
>> You have to start the session (e.g. by calling session_start();) which
>> creates the super global $_SESSION and populates it with the variables
>> your saved there from last visit by this browser.
>>
>> Note - the session is controlled by a cookie, so it refers to the
>> browser invocation, not a window.
>>
>> If you want something stored that is unique to a window, it - or an
>> identifier so you can get it back - has to go into a hidden field in the
>> form.
>>
>> Warning - You should (IMHO) turn off the option in php.ini that permits
>> sessions to be controlled by the URL, because it is too easy for
>> sessions to be hi-jacked when the URL is bookmarked or copied. This will
>> mean that the session mechanism will only work if your visitors haven't
>> turned off cookies completely.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Ian
>
> Ian,
>
> 1.
> the SESSION global may help.
> to handle the client session ID + it's variables.
>
Nope - the session ID is handled automatically. Data you place into
$_SESSION is recreated when (if) your visitor returns.

> I mean something just for server variables handling, no connection to
> clients
> so is it possible to handle server only global variables
> like to save last used tcp port or calculate some total entries
> and of course much more.
>
I think the way to get the stats you want is to log the information to a
(the?) log file, and scan that when required.

If you want something like a visitor counter, you will have to store
that yourself in a file - load, update and store as required. Don't
forget to lock the file while you do this - Apache and php are
multi-threading, and you could find your changes over-written by another
visitor's thread.

Regards

Ian

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