CODEWITHSUNDEEP
phpglobal-variables
Grace Michelle
Grace Michelle

Reputation: 223

PHP - $_POST and $_SESSION

What's the differences between $_POST and $_SESSION? When should I use each of them? I've been searching on internet, but I still don't understand. Please give simple explanation and give an example. Thanks

Maybe, this link can help you to explain the difference

Upvotes: 1

Views: 15557

Answers (2)

keziah
keziah

Reputation: 574

Sample usages

$_POST

<?php
    // Access the username field with $_POST
    $username = $_POST['username'];

    // Output the username value
    echo $username;

    // If GET uncomment this
    // $username = $_GET['username'];
    // echo $username;

    // Or you can use $_REQUEST if you're in doubt about $_POST or $_GET
    // $username = $_REQUEST['username'];
    // echo $username;
?>

<form action="/" method="post"> <!-- You can change this as POST or GET -->
    <input type="text" name="username" />
    <input type="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>

By using $_POST, the address will be

http://domain.com/login

By using $_GET,

http://domain.com/login?username=somevalue

NOTE: $_GET displays the submitted value while $_POST don't

$_SESSION

<?php
    // You should call this first
    session_start();

    // Initialize the session value
    $_SESSION['mysession'] = 'hello_world';

    // Output the session value
    echo $_SESSION['mysession'];
?>

Upvotes: 4

badandyomega
badandyomega

Reputation: 252

In a nutshell, $_POST is a special array that stores data received from an HTTP POST request to a particular webpage. When the script loads, the raw HTTP POST data string is parsed and added to the $_POST array, so that it's easier for developers to use for common tasks, like handling HTML form submissions.

Example:

Raw HTTP data string format:
    key1=2&key2=3

$_POST array data format:
    $_POST = array('key1' => '2', 'key2' => '3');

$_SESSION data is not dependent on a particular page or HTTP request; its data is persisted across pages and is typically used for things like keeping track of account data while a user is logged-in. $_SESSION data is often stored in files on the server (or in a distributed storage mechanism like Redis) until it is either manually cleared (e.g., session_destroy()), or until PHP's garbage collection runs and destroys it.

Upvotes: 2

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