Communication between pages using sessions not working

[willc]

Hello,

I am having some difficulty.

 

I have a page that I am trying to limit access to:

www.mydomain.com/forum/index.php

 

I only want members to be able to get to that page after a successful log in and from a link within a members only page:

www.mydomain.com/members/members_page.php

 

On members_page.php, the link will take us to another page (www.mydomain.com/members/forum.php).

 

On forum.php, the www.mydomain.com/forum/index.php page is "embedded" using phpinclude. 

 

The sessions don't seem to be working.  I know I'm missing something because I am an idiot with this stuff.

 

 

So, here's how the progression goes and the essential code for each page:

1.  Deny access to www.mydomain.com/forum/index.php directly unless they have logged in:

<?php

session_start();

if ($_SESSION['access'] !== true)

{

header("location:http://www.mydomain.com/members/main_login.php");

}

?>

HTML and php of the forum index page falls below the code above.

 

2.  If they have not logged in, they have been directed to main_login.php.  Here is the code on that page:

<?

session_start();

if ($_SESSION['access'] == true)

{

header("location:http://www.mydomain.com/members/members_page.php"); //let them in if successful log-in

}

?>

Form HTML falls below the code above.

 

3.  After they have entered their log-in information, they are sent to checklogin.php to see if the username and password match.  Here is the code for that:

 

<?php

session_start();

$host="xxxxx";

$username="xxxxx";

$password="xxxxx";

$db_name="xxxxx";

$tbl_name="xxxxxx";

 

mysql_connect("$host", "$username", "$password")or die("cannot connect");

mysql_select_db("$db_name")or die("cannot select DB");

 

$myusername=strtoupper($_POST['myusername']);

$mypassword=$_POST['mypassword'];

 

$sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE UPPER(lastname) LIKE '%$myusername%' and membernum='$mypassword'";

$result=mysql_query($sql);

 

$count=mysql_num_rows($result);

 

if($count==1){

$_SESSION['access'] = true;

header("Location: http://www.mydomain.com/members/members_page.php");

}

else {

echo "Wrong Username or Password";

}

?>

 

4.  If they have logged in successfully, they are sent to the members_page.php.

 

Here is the php code for that page:

<?php

session_start();

if ($_SESSION['access'] !== true)

{

header("location:http://www.mydomain.com/members/main_login.php");

}

 

5. On members_page.php, there is a link to another page (www.mydomain.com/members/forum.php) which has the forum index page (www.mydomain.com/forum/index.php) embedded in it using phpinclude.  So when they load www.mydomain.com/members/forum.php, they are actually partly seeing www.mydomain.com/forum/index.php within it.

 

Here is the code for www.mydomain.com/members/forum.php

<?php

session_start();

if ($_SESSION['access'] !== true)

{

header("location:http://www.mydomain.com/members/main_login.php");

}

?>

HTML of website with php code is down below the code above.  The link to the actual forum  (www.mydomain.com/forum/index.php) is done using phpinclude so it happens automatically.  So phpinclude brings the forum page (forum/index.php) into the members' forum page (members/forum.php). 

 

Here is that code in the middle of the HTML of the forum.php page:

<?php

session_start();

$_SESSION['access'] = true;

include("http://www.mydomain.com/forum/");

?>

 

 

My problem is that I can't get into the forum.  I am just sent endlessly in a loop from the member log in page to the members only page, around and around.  I suspect that something is happening where the session is not being carried over from the link on the members_only page to the forum.php page.  The access=true is not working on the embedded forum because it keeps asking me to log-in.

 

Should I not be using phpinclude or do you see something that I don't that is not allowing me to get into the forum?  I think I am probably using sessions incorrectly.

 

Any help in any area greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Will

 

 

[l0ve2hat3]

i believe you have to register the session before assigning it. but I could be wrong.

 

session_register(''access'');

[l0ve2hat3]

also enclose all the access session value in qoutes

 

if($count==1){
session_register("access"); //register first
$_SESSION['access'] = "true"; //enclose in quotes
header("Location: http://www.mydomain.com/members/members_page.php");
}
else {
echo "Wrong Username or Password";
}
?>

 

wrap in quotes for all pages

<?
session_start();
if ($_SESSION['access'] == "true")
{
header("location:http://www.mydomain.com/members/members_page.php"); //let them in if successful log-in
}
?>

[l0ve2hat3]

this is wrong. !==

Here is the code for www.mydomain.com/members/forum.php
<?php
session_start();
if ($_SESSION['access'] !== true)
{
header("location:http://www.mydomain.com/members/main_login.php");
}
?>

 

use this !=

and dont forget to enclose in quotes

Here is the code for www.mydomain.com/members/forum.php
<?php
session_start();
if ($_SESSION['access'] != "true")
{
header("location:http://www.mydomain.com/members/main_login.php");
}
?>

[willc]

thank you, i will give that a go!

I hope it works.

[l0ve2hat3]

lol sorry.

WHY are you doing this???

$sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE UPPER(lastname) LIKE '%$myusername%' and membernum='$mypassword'";

 

thats no good. if your worried about the whitespaces use the trim() function

also use single quote to enclose the field name when your using the UPPER function

like so

$myusername = trim($myusername);
$sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE UPPER('lastname')='$myusername' and membernum='$mypassword'";

[BlueSkyIS]

"also use single quote to enclose the field name when your using the UPPER function"

 

not required. i typically use single-word legal MySQL column names and never use quotes to avoid any problems.

[willc]

Hi,

First, thanks for your help.  I really do appreciate it.

 

Second, please laugh at me loudly.  Seriously.  It's comical that I'm even trying to tackle this stuff.  My brain cannot handle this code.  I really don't know how you guys do it. 

 

In any case, to answer your question:

$sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE UPPER(lastname) LIKE '%$myusername%' and membernum='$mypassword'";

 

I was just trying to choose the username from the table regardless of whether they entered a lower case last name or an uppercase one.  I didn't want there to be any difference between "Jones" and "jones."  I thought that's how it was done.  But I will implement your solution.

 

All of your help on the log-in seems to be working (thank you) but I'm not quite there yet.  I get this error now:

Warning: include(http://www.mydomain.org/forum/) [function.include]: failed to open stream: Redirection limit reached, aborting in /forum.php on line 397

 

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.mydomain.org/forum/' for inclusion forum.php on line 397

 

Those errors occur on the forum.php page so it seems that once that is fixed, we will be in business!

[l0ve2hat3]

why are you using this?  you dont want it to redirect there?

 

<?php
session_start();
$_SESSION['access'] = true;
include("http://www.mydomain.com/forum/");
?>

 

like this

 

<?php
session_start();
$_SESSION['access'] = true;
header("location: http://www.mydomain.com/forum/");
?>

 

oh and btw i wasent laughing out loud at you.

I was laughing becuase I posted so many times instead of just one time

[l0ve2hat3]

In any case, to answer your question:

$sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE UPPER(lastname) LIKE '%$myusername%' and membernum='$mypassword'";

 

I was just trying to choose the username from the table regardless of whether they entered a lower case last name or an uppercase one.  I didn't want there to be any difference between "Jones" and "jones."  I thought that's how it was done.  But I will implement your solution.

 

ok so so do it the way i posted

$myusername=strtoupper($_POST['myusername']);
$myusername = trim($myusername);
$mypassword=$_POST['mypassword'];

$sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE UPPER('lastname')='$myusername' and membernum='$mypassword'";
$result=mysql_query($sql);

 

[l0ve2hat3]

unless you enable URL access for the include function in PHP.ini then it wont work.  if its on your server then just use the path to it. ex. /home/user/public_html/forums/index.php (just an example)

[willc]

thanks for the username stuff, i will implement that.

 

on the php include, i just thought that's how it was done if i wanted to "embed" the /forum/index.php page into the members/forum.php page.  But you are suggesting that I put the header redirect in instead?  The php include is now in the middle of the page, in some html code.  When I implement your suggestion, I get this error:

 

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at members/forum.php:20) in members/forum.php on line 397. 

 

Line 397 has this on it: ("location: http://www.mydomain.org/forum/");

 

Thanks again for all your help with this.

 

Also, I will look into just using the path with include.

[l0ve2hat3]

on the php include, i just thought that's how it was done if i wanted to "embed" the /forum/index.php page into the members/forum.php page

 

yes do that! read my last post. you cant use a URL instead use the path like you said

include("/forum/index.php");

[willc]

Hello,

No matter what I do with the php's include function, I am getting errors on my page.

 

My code in my php page is this:

include("http://www.mydomain.org/forum/");

 

when I do that, I get these error messages:

Warning: include(http://www.mydomain.org/forum/) [function.include]: failed to open stream: Redirection limit reached, aborting in /home/usr/public_html/members/forum.php on line 397

 

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.mydomain.org/forum/' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/usr/public_html/members/forum.php on line 397

 

I've even checked the php.ini file and it allows urls.

 

Alternatively, when I use the relative path instead like this:

include("/home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php");

 

I get these warning messages:

 

 

Warning: include(./extension.inc) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php on line 33

 

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening './extension.inc' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php on line 33

 

Warning: include(./common.) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php on line 34

 

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening './common.' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php on line 34

 

Fatal error: Call to undefined function session_pagestart() in /home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php on line 39

 

Anybody know what to do about this?  There must be something simple I'm missing.  Are .php files supposed to go in specific, "pre-designated" directories?

 

Thank you!

[l0ve2hat3]

thats wierd... try

 

include($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']."/forum/index.php");

[l0ve2hat3]

wait...

let me see your code for line 33 on index.php

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening './extension.inc' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php on line 33

[l0ve2hat3]

wait...

let me see your code for line 33 on index.php

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening './extension.inc' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/usr/public_html/forum/index.php on line 33

[willc]

here are lines 33-39 on index.php where the problems now seem to be occurring:

 

33 include($phpbb_root_path . 'extension.inc');
34 include($phpbb_root_path . 'common.'.$phpEx);
35
36 //
37 // Start session management
38 //
39 $userdata = session_pagestart($user_ip, PAGE_INDEX);

 

Have the file paths been screwed up?

 

Thank you!

[willc]

thats wierd... try

 

include($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']."/forum/index.php");

 

When I inserted the code above, I got the same error messages as before.... I think the problem is on index.php.  I have included the code in the previous post that is likely causing the problem.

[l0ve2hat3]

hrmmm what is the value of $phpbb_root_path  also... any one else in the forum care to help as well????

[l0ve2hat3]

can you post all your code? or is it too much or private?