Count visitors on my website

[Ciaran]

Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

[Michael Fesser]

..oO(Ciaran)

>Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

You can use rand().

Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

Micha

[axlq]

In article <6u************ *************** *****@4ax.com>,
Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de wrote:

>.oO(Ciaran)

>>Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

You can use rand().

Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

The VBulletin software not only says how many users are logged in and
using the forum, but also lists their names.

It is reasonable to assume that for a site like a forum, if a user
logs in, that user will probably still be looking at the forum a
minute after the user's most recent activity. It should be easy to
keep a running database of users whose recent activity is less than,
say, 5 minutes ago. The list could be displayed alphabetically or
sorted by timestamp.

-A

[Jerry Stuckle]

axlq wrote:

In article <6u************ *************** *****@4ax.com>,
Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de wrote:

>.oO(Ciaran)

>>Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

You can use rand().

Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

The VBulletin software not only says how many users are logged in and
using the forum, but also lists their names.

It is reasonable to assume that for a site like a forum, if a user
logs in, that user will probably still be looking at the forum a
minute after the user's most recent activity. It should be easy to
keep a running database of users whose recent activity is less than,
say, 5 minutes ago. The list could be displayed alphabetically or
sorted by timestamp.

-A

No, that is not a reasonable assumption. Some people may stay 10
second, others 10 hours.

As Micha said - HTTP is a stateless protocol. All you really know is
that the user is *probably* still there when a response is being sent.
But even that is not for sure.

Any other figure is a pure crap shoot.

--
=============== ===
Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
js*******@attgl obal.net
=============== ===

[Hadron]

Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de writes:

.oO(Ciaran)

>>Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

You can use rand().

Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

Micha

So you clearly have no clue.

PHP maintains sessions and the user can be logged for that duration and
therefore only counted once.

[rf]

"Hadron" <ha*********@gm ail.comwrote in message
news:87******** ****@gmail.com. ..

Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de writes:

>.oO(Ciaran)

>>>Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

You can use rand().

Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

Micha

So you clearly have no clue.

Ha!

PHP maintains sessions and the user can be logged for that duration and
therefore only counted once.

And it clearly says right up there in the Original Post: "not logged in".

That means no session.

And even if there *is* a session how do you know the user hasn't opened a
new tab and is busily looking at somebody elses site, or turned their
computer off, or simply wandered off down to the pub for lunch?

With sessions you can tell how many people have used your login form and
have yet to use your logout form, or yet to be timed out. You can not tell
how many people are "browsing the site".

I administer several sites that use logins. Sometimes I visit one only to
find that I had last "logged in" several days ago and my browser is still
hanging on to the session cookie.

--
Richard.

[Michael Fesser]

..oO(Hadron)

>Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de writes:

>Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

So you clearly have no clue.

Sure?

>PHP maintains sessions and the user can be logged for that duration and
therefore only counted once.

You are the second one in this thread who obviously didn't read the "not
logged in" in the original post.

And what does session counting tell you? Sessions can be open for hours
without any user interaction. The user could have died already in front
of his monitor and his session would still be open.

Whatever way you go - it's always just guessing. So why bother at all?
Why show a questionable "informatio n" that is of absolutely no use for
the visitor? Just to show how cool and active the "community" is? If you
want that you can use rand() - it's much easier than all others methods.

Micha

[Gordon Burditt]

>>>>Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of

>>>>people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

You can use rand().

Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

Micha

So you clearly have no clue.

Ha!

>PHP maintains sessions and the user can be logged for that duration and
therefore only counted once.

And it clearly says right up there in the Original Post: "not logged in".

That means no session.

No, "not logged in" does *NOT* mean "no session". For some login
setups, "no session" (e.g. they've got cookies turned off, and
you're not passing the session identifier in the URL) means "no
ability to sustain a login", but that's a completely different
issue.

>And even if there *is* a session how do you know the user hasn't opened a
new tab and is busily looking at somebody elses site, or turned their
computer off, or simply wandered off down to the pub for lunch?

Or is talking on the phone, or is asleep, or ...

>With sessions you can tell how many people have used your login form and
have yet to use your logout form, or yet to be timed out. You can not tell
how many people are "browsing the site".

Sessions do not require a login form. But even if you have a "logout form",
users hardly ever use it unless there's some really sensitive information
or control with it (like online banking). About the only thing you can
do is assume a timeout: no hit in N minutes for that session, they've
probably left.

>I administer several sites that use logins. Sometimes I visit one only to
find that I had last "logged in" several days ago and my browser is still
hanging on to the session cookie.

If you're trying to count "unique visitors", you've got an even worse
problem. Spammers often sign up multiple accounts for the same user.

[Hadron]

Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de writes:

.oO(Hadron)

>>Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de writes:

>>Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

So you clearly have no clue.

Sure?

>>PHP maintains sessions and the user can be logged for that duration and
therefore only counted once.

You are the second one in this thread who obviously didn't read the "not
logged in" in the original post

I am reading the "stateless protocol" stuff above and replying to that
in the context of PHP.
..

>
And what does session counting tell you? Sessions can be open for hours
without any user interaction. The user could have died already in front
of his monitor and his session would still be open.

That's not the issue. Clearly something on a server cant know IF he is
reading the page or not. You can only go on the connections.

"Currently online" has a meaning - and that is that HIS PC is
connected. The rest is guesswork.

>
Whatever way you go - it's always just guessing. So why bother at all?

Absolute tosh.

Why show a questionable "informatio n" that is of absolutely no use for
the visitor? Just to show how cool and active the "community" is? If you
want that you can use rand() - it's much easier than all others
methods.

As I said - you are clueless.

>
Micha

--

[Hadron]

"rf" <[e-mail] writes:

"Hadron" <ha*********@gm ail.comwrote in message
news:87******** ****@gmail.com. ..

>Michael Fesser <ne*****@gmx.de writes:

>>.oO(Ciaran)

Hi I've seen this a few places - The site lists off the number of
people (not logged in) currently browsing the site. How can I do this
with php / mySQL please?

You can use rand().

Such "statistics " are never accurate. HTTP is a stateless protocol,
there's no such thing like a "currently online user". A user comes,
sends a request, gets a response and is gone. Next request, next user.

Micha

So you clearly have no clue.

Ha!

>PHP maintains sessions and the user can be logged for that duration and
therefore only counted once.

And it clearly says right up there in the Original Post: "not logged
in".

So? Who is talking about "logged in"? I am talking about PHP sessions.

>
That means no session.

Rubbish.

>
And even if there *is* a session how do you know the user hasn't opened a
new tab and is busily looking at somebody elses site, or turned their
computer off, or simply wandered off down to the pub for lunch?

So what if they are? They are still connected and have a session. Of
course we can not know if that user is actually LOOKING - but they *ARE*
connected.

>
With sessions you can tell how many people have used your login form and
have yet to use your logout form, or yet to be timed out. You can not tell
how many people are "browsing the site".

Yes you can. Because even if they are not physically looking, they ARE
still browsing. Sure, we dont know if the use is asleep or on the toilet
but he IS still maintaining a session.

>
I administer several sites that use logins. Sometimes I visit one only to
find that I had last "logged in" several days ago and my browser is still
hanging on to the session cookie.

If you administer sites then I am surprised you are so clueless in the
context of a PHP site.