Trouble passing variables through url of a second page

[drayarms]

Here is a simplified version of a script which I  named register.php that processes user input from a registration form.

<?php
if (isset($_POST['submitted'])) {

$firstname = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['firstname']);

$lastname = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['lastname']);

header("Location: register_confirm_page.php?firstname=$firstname&lastname=$lastname");

}
?>

 

As intended, the firstname and lastname posted variables are carried over to a redirected page register_confirm_page.php  where the user is supposed to review his registration details before clicking the final submit button to be registered.  Below is a simplified version of the register confirm page:

So far everything works just fine as intended.

<?php

//Retrieve variables from previous page

$firstname=$_GET['firstname'];

$lastname=$_GET['lastname'];

//Show user his details

echo "Firstname:" .$firstname. "<br/>"  ; 
echo "Lastname:" .$lastname

//Show the submit button.
echo'<form method="post" action="register_confirm.php?firstname=$firstname&lastname=$lastname"> <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Register!"  /> </form>   ';

?>

 

Now the intent is to send the first name and last name to yet another page register_confirm.php, where the value is finally submitted into my database.  To keep it simple, I won't include this third page, but what I basically did there was use the GET method as above, to retrieve the values again.  Well this time around, the first and last names are not sent to the third page.  Instead, the literal values '$firstname' and '$lastname' are passed through the url to the third page and I know this because that's what shows up in the url when I click the submit button and that's also what shows up in my database table.  Does anyone understand why this may be happening and not what I expected would happen?  I have passed variables between more than 2 pages before but this is the first time I am encountering this problem.  I really can't see what is being done wrong here. Perhaps someone can.

[trq]

Variables are not interpolated within single quotes.

[AMcHarg]

Variables in double quotes "$variable", will use the correct value, but in single quotes '$variable' will literally return the string $variable.

 

[cyberRobot]

As suggested by the others, the single quotes in the last echo statement make it so $firstname and $lastname won't work:

 

echo'<form method="post" action="register_confirm.php?firstname=$firstname&lastname=$lastname"> 

 

 

You could change it to a double quote or do something like:

 

echo'<form method="post" action="register_confirm.php?firstname=' . $firstname . '&lastname=' . $lastname . '"> 

[trq]

There's a hell of an echo in here.

[fugix]

There's a hell of an echo in here.

Yeah. No need to repeat something that's already been said. OP, if you need further assistance with this let us know and we will be glad to help

[trq]

Yeah. No need to repeat something that's already been said.

 

But wait, isn't that your favourite trick fugix?

[fugix]

Truthfully, when I first came to this forum yes, now no

[.josh]

Truthfully, when I first came to this forum yes, now no

But... You just did that even right now, with this:

There's a hell of an echo in here.

Yeah. No need to repeat something that's already been said. OP, if you need further assistance with this let us know and we will be glad to help

 

You just repeated someone else alluding to not repeating things...

[litebearer]

who's on first?

[fugix]

Truthfully, when I first came to this forum yes, now no

But... You just did that even right now, with this:

There's a hell of an echo in here.

Yeah. No need to repeat something that's already been said. OP, if you need further assistance with this let us know and we will be glad to help

Can't argue with that.

 

You just repeated someone else alluding to not repeating things...

Can't argue with that. I did the very thing I said you shouldn't do. My bad