I am trying to store an array in a session, and then print the contents of the array out on another page. however I cant get it to work, rather than printing the content of the array it jusy prints "Array".

The code I am using is

Code:

session_start();

$firstquarter=array('January', 'February', 'March');

$_SESSION["firstquarter"] = "$firstquarter";




Then on another page to write the contents of the array

Code:
print_r($_SESSION["firstquarter"]);


Or if I try this
Code:
foreach ($_SESSION["firstquarter"] as $value)
{
echo "$value<br>";
}

I get this error
"Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in C:\Xitami\webpages\results.php on line 97"

Sorry forgot to mention, I am using session_start() in the appropriate place on the second page.

Perhaps print_r() or var_dump() will help you be less dazed and confused about what your variable names, types, and values are...

http://www.php.net/print_r
http://www.php.net/var_dump


Take care,

Nik
http://www.bigaction.org/

that SHOULD work, i have tried an equivilant version, you can test to make sure your array exists by making an if statement before your foreach:
if($_SESSION["firstquarter"]) echo "this works";

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http://aeonofdarkness.com

Personally, I find this style to be horrible. Don't take it personally, it's just the way you learned PHP.

The reason I think this is a Bad Thing (tm) is that if $_SESSION["firstquarter"] doesn't exist, PHP will issue an E_NOTICE level warning that you're accessing an uninitialized index, and create the index variable with a default value of false, "", or 0, depending on context.

You should always be explicit when checking for the existence or type of a variable to avoid ambiguous code and potential security risks.

Often times, it's best to use negative logic to avoid having the bulk of your code in an if() block. Use the if() statement to determine if there's an error (i.e. firstquarter doesn't exist) and deal with it appropriately:



Take care,

Nik
http://www.bigaction.org/

i didn't know there was a difference.... i just started learning php and have a background with C/C++ so i'm used to doing stuff like that. :) unfortuneatly i didn't really understand what you were saying about it...could u explain that a bit more? i like to fix bad habbits before they become habbits.

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http://aeonofdarkness.com

Cheers guys I got it working now. The strange thing is the first part of the code which set the array to the session was on a page which redirected to the page where the array was called, and that wasnt working. Then when I put the code that set the array to the session at the top of the page where the array was called, it worked. I dont understand the difference?

if the line of code that redirected is before you set the array, then it will redirect before it sets the array.

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http://aeonofdarkness.com

Definitely. If you try to use a non-existent variable, PHP will CREATE that variable for you, automatically. PHP will also issue a NOTICE level warning (the lowest severity level), which many people have disabled by default.

For example, take this simple script:

Obviously, $name doesn't exist.

Check your error_reporting setting in php.ini. Set it to E_ALL. Run the script. You should get a NOTICE level warning saying that you're using an uninitialized variable.

Change error_reporting to E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE. That's "Everything except E_NOTICE", by the way.

Run the script again. No errors.

In both cases, PHP creates the variable $name and gives it a default value. Since you're using the variable in string context, the variable is treated as an empty string. If you were using it in an integer context, it would be 0. If in a boolean context, it would be false.

The problem with your code is that it won't work on ALL installations of PHP. What happens when you upload your script to an ISP that has error_reporting set to E_ALL? Your pages get displayed with errors, that's what.

Is the existence of that variable really proof enough that it's what you want it to be? No. You're expecting an array. If that variable is set to any other data type, you'll get errors in the foreach() loop.

If register_globals is on, what happens when a malicious user requests your page and tacks on "?_SESSION[firstquarter]=0" to the URL?

See what I'm getting at?


The best way to write your scripts is to set PHP to it's most restrictive configuration -- error_reporting = E_ALL, register_globals = OFF -- and go from there.

Once your site runs cleanly here, it should run cleanly anywhere else, and you've probably made your site much more secure against malicious users trying to hack your site by submitting invalid GET, POST, and COOKIE data.


For more info, I strongly suggest you read my register_globals FAQ from the old lists, and the Security section of the PHP manual online:

  http://p2p.wrox.com/archive/beginnin...2002-11/17.asp
  http://www.php.net/security
  http://www.php.net/security.errors
  http://www.php.net/security.registerglobals




Check your error_reporting setting in php.ini.

Take care,

Nik
http://www.bigaction.org/

it creates the variable......that would make sense because of it's dynamic look at variable creation, thanks for the explanation. :)

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http://aeonofdarkness.com