How can the timestamp of the last user action be effectively utilized to determine user online status in PHP applications?

To determine user online status in PHP applications, the timestamp of the last user action can be utilized by comparing it to the current time. If the time difference is within a certain threshold (e.g. 5 minutes), the user can be considered online. This approach helps to accurately track user activity and display their online status in real-time. 

// Get the timestamp of the last user action from the database
$lastActionTimestamp = strtotime($row['last_action_timestamp']);

// Calculate the current time
$currentTimestamp = time();

// Define a threshold for online status (e.g. 5 minutes)
$onlineThreshold = 300; // 5 minutes in seconds

// Check if the user is online based on the time difference
if (($currentTimestamp - $lastActionTimestamp) <= $onlineThreshold) {
    echo "User is online";
} else {
    echo "User is offline";
}

Keywords

timestamp user action online status PHP applications utilization

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