Trouble With Sessions

[Phil Powell]

I have a form that will be preserving form data prior to processing
the form data. Upon clicking a certain submit button you will go to
another PHP script that will contain the following code:

if (strcmp(strtolower($_POST['submit']), 'apply') != 0) { // GO BACK
TO grad_application with $_SESSION
session_start();
if (sizeof($_POST) > 0) $_SESSION['post'] = $_POST;
if (sizeof($_GET) > 0) $_SESSION['get'] = $_GET;
header("Location: http://$SERVER_NAME${devpath}grad_application.php?"
.. Session_Name() . '=' . Session_Id());
}

Upon redirection back to the original PHP form script I will include
an "HTML" file (its extension is HTML but it's actually PHP) that
should prepopulate the form fields with the data from $_SESSION. At
the top of my page I have:

session_start();

However, while I see the PHPSESSID in my query string I do not see any
of my form elements populated. This is how I am parsing $_SESSION in
the "HTML" file:

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unclear as to how $_POST and $_GET vars are set, so as a backup, save
them here in macros.inc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
foreach ($_POST as $key => $val) {
if (!isset(${$key})) ${$key} = $val;
}

foreach ($_GET as $key => $val) {
if (!isset(${$key})) ${$key} = $val;
}

if (preg_match('/grad_application\.php/i', $REQUEST_URI) &&
isset($_SESSION['post'])) {
foreach ($_SESSION['post'] as $key => $val) {
$blah .= "key = $key and val = $val<P>\n";
if (!isset(${$key})) ${$key} = $val;
}
}

if (preg_match('/grad_application\.php/i', $REQUEST_URI) &&
isset($_SESSION['get'])) {
foreach ($_SESSION['get'] as $key => $val) {
if (!isset(${$key})) ${$key} = $val;
}
}

//---END OF FORM VAR DYNAMIC SETTING
BLOCK------------------------------------------------------

This was all based on php.net information on sessions at:
http://us4.php.net/manual/en/function.session-start.php

and at
http://us4.php.net/manual/en/printw....predefined.php

I've never had any success with sessions to be honest. Maybe I'm
approaching this whole thing wrong. Bottom line is that I want to
produce a form that has a button that will produce more form elements
upon click while retaining everything you typed so far.

Phil

[Paulus Magnus]

"Phil Powell" <so*****@erols.com> wrote in message
news:1c**************************@posting.google.c om...

I have a form that will be preserving form data prior to processing
the form data. Upon clicking a certain submit button you will go to
another PHP script that will contain the following code:

8< SNIP! >8

I've never had any success with sessions to be honest. Maybe I'm
approaching this whole thing wrong. Bottom line is that I want to
produce a form that has a button that will produce more form elements
upon click while retaining everything you typed so far.

Phew!!! Glad you got to the original problem or I was going to pass on this
one.

Are the form elements similar because maybe you should use an array of
elements; i.e.

<input name="name[0]" type="text" value="<?=$_POST['name'][0]?>">
<input name="name[1]" type="text" value="<?=$_POST['name'][1]?>">

And then when they want more you can just add some more and because you're
setting the initial values of these input fields to the same as what's
contained in the $_POST array you don't have to worry about storing the
values outside the web page.

Sessions do work very well but they're not always the easiest solution to
problems.

Paulus

[Phil Powell]

Thanx but that would've failed. upon clicking the button you are
redirected from grad_application.php to grad_application_redirect.php
only to return BACK to grad_application.php with retained vars or
doing processing depending on which submit button you clicked.

I got it solved, I had to move $_SESSION to the function inside a
class object instance in a library elsewhere.

Phil

"Paulus Magnus" <pa***********@loves-spam.com> wrote in message news:<bl**********@titan.btinternet.com>...

"Phil Powell" <so*****@erols.com> wrote in message
news:1c**************************@posting.google.c om...

I have a form that will be preserving form data prior to processing
the form data. Upon clicking a certain submit button you will go to
another PHP script that will contain the following code:

8< SNIP! >8

I've never had any success with sessions to be honest. Maybe I'm
approaching this whole thing wrong. Bottom line is that I want to
produce a form that has a button that will produce more form elements
upon click while retaining everything you typed so far.

Phew!!! Glad you got to the original problem or I was going to pass on this
one.

Are the form elements similar because maybe you should use an array of
elements; i.e.

<input name="name[0]" type="text" value="<?=$_POST['name'][0]?>">
<input name="name[1]" type="text" value="<?=$_POST['name'][1]?>">

And then when they want more you can just add some more and because you're
setting the initial values of these input fields to the same as what's
contained in the $_POST array you don't have to worry about storing the
values outside the web page.

Sessions do work very well but they're not always the easiest solution to
problems.

Paulus