What are best practices for maintaining search parameters when sorting data in PHP?

When sorting data in PHP, it is important to maintain search parameters to ensure that the user's filtered results are not lost during the sorting process. One way to achieve this is by storing the search parameters in session variables and passing them back to the page when sorting is applied. This way, the user's search criteria are preserved and the sorted data reflects their original query.

// Start session to store search parameters
session_start();

// Check if search parameters are set and store them in session variables
if(isset($_GET['search'])) {
    $_SESSION['search'] = $_GET['search'];
}

// Retrieve search parameters from session variables
$search = isset($_SESSION['search']) ? $_SESSION['search'] : '';

// Apply sorting logic here

// Display sorted data while maintaining search parameters
echo "Sorted data based on search parameter: " . $search;