Posted by Jim Moseby on 11/29/05 18:57

> Hi to all!
> I have form made on 4 pages (by groups of questions). Right
> now my code
> works this way: once somebody submit the first page of the
> form his/her
> submitted info is entered in database with status=temp. I
> store the ID
> (insert_id()) in session and then every time visitor submit the next
> page I do update of the current record using ID.
> But, I heard once that "the best" solution is store all
> entered info in
> session (array) and insert all info at once.
> Or, instead in sessions, move submitted info with serialized array.
>
> Opinions?
>

The upside to storing the data in session variables is that you make only ne
DB call at the end, saving processor, bandwidth, etc. The downside is, that
if your user cannot complete the form, his data is lost and he has to start
all over again.

Which one is best depends greatly on your environment and situation. For
instance, if you have 1000 users onlin simultaneously filling out forms, and
the forms are simple, you would probably opt to use session variables and
make one DB call. If you only have one or two online and the forms are 1000
questions long, your would want to write each page as it is completed.

JM

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