How can PHP sessions be effectively used to store user information for redirection purposes instead of relying on cookies?
When relying on PHP sessions to store user information for redirection purposes instead of cookies, you can set session variables with the necessary user data upon login. These session variables can then be accessed on subsequent pages to determine if a user is logged in or to retrieve their information for redirection purposes.
// Start the session
session_start();
// Upon successful login, set session variables with user information
$_SESSION['user_id'] = $user_id;
$_SESSION['username'] = $username;
// Check if user is logged in on subsequent pages
if(isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
// User is logged in, perform redirection based on user information
header('Location: dashboard.php');
exit();
} else {
// User is not logged in, redirect to login page
header('Location: login.php');
exit();
}