Are there alternative methods to using cURL and cookies in PHP for maintaining user sessions and authentication across multiple pages or servers?

Using sessions in PHP is a common alternative to cURL and cookies for maintaining user sessions and authentication across multiple pages or servers. Sessions store user data on the server side and provide a unique session ID to identify the user. This method is more secure and easier to manage compared to using cookies.

<?php
session_start();

// Set session variables
$_SESSION["user_id"] = 12345;
$_SESSION["username"] = "john_doe";

// Retrieve session variables on other pages
echo "User ID: " . $_SESSION["user_id"];
echo "Username: " . $_SESSION["username"];

// Destroy session on logout
session_destroy();
?>