What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Sessions for transporting variables in a PHP application?

Using sessions to transport variables in a PHP application can be advantageous because it allows for persistent data storage across multiple pages without the need to pass variables through URLs or forms. However, sessions can also introduce security risks, such as session hijacking or session fixation, if not properly implemented and secured.

// Start a session
session_start();

// Set a variable in the session
$_SESSION['username'] = 'john_doe';

// Retrieve the variable from the session
$username = $_SESSION['username'];

// Destroy the session when no longer needed
session_destroy();