PHP stores all the session data associated with a session ID in a single string and handles the decoding of this string automatically. However, there are times when it may be necessary or beneficial to handle this process manually. The first thing to understand is how the string is put together. In the following example, three session variables are stored (last name, first name and phone number): lname|s:6:"Gordon";fname|s:6:"Jethro";phone|s:10:"7197235674"; The session variables are separated by a semicolon (;) and then can be broken down into their individual components: name of the variable, length of the string that is contained and the value itself. For the session variable lname, the length of the string is 6 characters long and the value that is stored in the string is "Gordon". Encoding the Session Variables The function session_encode allows for all the session variables available to the user to be encoded into a single
“The best way to be ready for the future is to invent it.”— John Sculley