What are some common authentication methods in PHP for server-side applications?

One common authentication method in PHP for server-side applications is using sessions to store user login information. By creating a session variable upon successful login, you can verify the user's identity on subsequent requests. Another method is using cookies to store authentication tokens, allowing users to remain logged in across sessions. Additionally, implementing password hashing and salting can enhance security by protecting user passwords from being easily compromised. 

// Start a session to store user login information
session_start();

// Check if user is logged in
if(isset($_SESSION['user_id'])){
    // User is authenticated, perform actions
} else {
    // Redirect to login page
    header("Location: login.php");
}

// Example of password hashing and salting
$password = 'password123';
$salt = 'random_salt';
$hashed_password = hash('sha256', $password . $salt);

Keywords

authentication PHP server-side methods applications

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