How can I efficiently manage user sessions and timestamps in a MySQL database for tracking online users in PHP?

To efficiently manage user sessions and timestamps in a MySQL database for tracking online users in PHP, you can create a sessions table to store session IDs, user IDs, and timestamps. When a user logs in, generate a unique session ID and store it in the database along with the user's ID and current timestamp. Update the timestamp each time the user interacts with the site to track their online status. 

// Establish a connection to the MySQL database
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Create a sessions table if it doesn't already exist
$mysqli->query("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS sessions (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    user_id INT,
    session_id VARCHAR(255),
    timestamp TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
)");

// Generate a unique session ID
$session_id = uniqid();

// Store the session ID and user ID in the sessions table
$user_id = 1; // Replace with the actual user ID
$mysqli->query("INSERT INTO sessions (user_id, session_id) VALUES ('$user_id', '$session_id')");

// Update the timestamp each time the user interacts with the site
$mysqli->query("UPDATE sessions SET timestamp = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP WHERE session_id = '$session_id'");

Keywords

PHP MySQL user sessions timestamps online users

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