How do I create my own session variable?

[tifischer]

In the header_php.php for a new page I am trying to create a new session variable such as $_SESSION['New_Var'] = 'New Var'; However, when the page redirects to header('Location:....); When I print the session there is no new variable. How do I add the new variable?

Blessings,
Tiffany

[tifischer]

Never mind I got it...I just needed to start_session()

[tifischer]

Well if I add start_session() then I am able to save my own variable but then the other variables are lost. How do I create new variables without deleting the old variables?

[mc12345678]

Umm. Provided $_SESSION['new_var'] exists before something prevents it from being set (redirect beforehand or perhaps a logout) the doing like:

$_SESSION['new_var'] = 'test this';

will set the session variable. Be sure that you have the underscore and everything else about the line is properly formatted. Otherwise you may need to post your code in order to figure out what is going wrong because I frequently will use that type of assignment so that results can be immediately seen without affecting page display, loading extra files/folders, or affecting program flow.

[DrByte]

Ya, more info needed (code is ideal) about what you're doing in the header_php.php file, and otherwise. The session should already be started by the time execution gets to that page .... unless you're getting there by some unconventional means.

Too little context here to actually help you effectively.

[tifischer]

Ya, more info needed (code is ideal) about what you're doing in the header_php.php file, and otherwise. The session should already be started by the time execution gets to that page .... unless you're getting there by some unconventional means.

Too little context here to actually help you effectively.

The new session is like $_SESSION['SCHOOL_NAME'] = base64_encode($some."|".$school."|".$info);

If I remove the session_start in the header_php.php file for the page, and then print_r the session, then I get the session name added but not the value when the new page loads. A print_r on $_session returns:
... [language] => english [SCHOOL_NAME] => [securityToken] => 07842b9f0fda02a832dfdfe7f5a04633

[mc12345678]

Is the key SCHOOL_NAME as written all caps? Is there a define somewhere in your code for the constant SCHOOL_NAME? I thought there was some "check" performed to prevent a session from overwriting a constant or some relationship with a $_GET or $_POST. There's some code in includes/init_includes/init_sanitize.php that addresses what I was thinking about but I don't know how it plays with what you are observing, other than I don't typically use all uppercase letters for something that is not to be a constant though that doesn't necessarily make the expression a constant.

See thing is, the "variable" is being created, but it's (expected) contents are not transferring or at the point of observation have been modified. Have you tried backing out to first just content not yet encoded? Does it act differently? Have you tried appending some "constant" to the 'SCHOOL_NAME' such that it would be seen as a different variable from page load to page load but could be referenced as necessary/desired?

[tifischer]

Is the key SCHOOL_NAME as written all caps? Is there a define somewhere in your code for the constant SCHOOL_NAME? I thought there was some "check" performed to prevent a session from overwriting a constant or some relationship with a $_GET or $_POST. There's some code in includes/init_includes/init_sanitize.php that addresses what I was thinking about but I don't know how it plays with what you are observing, other than I don't typically use all uppercase letters for something that is not to be a constant though that doesn't necessarily make the expression a constant.

See thing is, the "variable" is being created, but it's (expected) contents are not transferring or at the point of observation have been modified. Have you tried backing out to first just content not yet encoded? Does it act differently? Have you tried appending some "constant" to the 'SCHOOL_NAME' such that it would be seen as a different variable from page load to page load but could be referenced as necessary/desired?

It just happens that I abbreviate the school names so that the school names happen to be in caps, there are no interfering definitions.

[DrByte]

In original core ZC code, any of the files under /includes/modules/ are called only after the session is started, so setting a value in one of those files should allow you to read that same value during subsequent visits using that same session.

If the value is set to an empty string, then (as mc8 mentioned above) clearly it's being set so your code is creating the entry, but then something in your own code is resetting it to empty.