Sessions

• Usage

The session class overrides PHP's standard session handler. This allows you to use the $_SESSION array as well as the methods offered by the session class. The supported handlers are:

• Database
• File
• Native
• Redis

The native handler will use the default PHP session handler that has been configured in php.ini.

Usage

If you want to use the $_SESSION array directly or the non-static interface of the session class then you need to call the instance method.

$session = Session::instance();

Adding an item to the session is done using the remember method.

$session->remember('name', $name);

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::remember('name', $name);

Getting an item from the session is done using the get method.

$session->get('name');

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::get('name');

// The get method allows you to return a default value if the key you're looking for doesn't exist
// The default return value for non-existing items is NULL

$session->get('name', 'John Doe');

You can check if an item exists in the session using the has method.

$session->has('name');

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::has('name');

Removing data from the session is done using the forget method.

$session->forget('name');

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::forget('name');

Sometimes you'll want to store temporary data that should expire after the next request (e.g., error and status messages). For this you can use the flash method.

$session->flash('success', 'The article has successfully been deleted!');

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::flash('success', 'The article has successfully been deleted!');

Sometimes you'll want to extend the lifetime of the flashdata. This can be done using the reflash method.

$session->reflash();

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::reflash();

Retrieving flash data is done using the flash method as well. The method will return FALSE if the requested flash data doesn't exist.

$data = $session->flash('success');

// Or if you're using the static interface

$data = Session::flash('success');

Retrieving the session id is done by using the id method.

$id = $session->id();

// Or if you're using the static interface

$id = Session::id();

Regenerating the session id can be done by using the regenerate method. A general rule of thumb is to regenerate the session id each time the access level of the user changes.

$session->regenerate();

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::regenerate();

To destroy a session use the destroy method.

$session->destroy();

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::destroy();

If you want to clear all session data without destroying the session then you can use the clear method.

$session->clear();

// Or if you're using the static interface

Session::clear();