What are the advantages of using sessions in PHP for user authentication?

Using sessions in PHP for user authentication provides a secure way to store user information across multiple pages without the need to pass sensitive data in the URL or use cookies. Sessions allow for the creation of unique session IDs for each user, which can be used to verify their identity and grant access to specific pages or features. Additionally, sessions can be easily managed and destroyed, providing an added layer of security for user authentication.

// Start the session
session_start();

// Check if user is logged in
if(isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    // User is logged in, allow access to restricted content
} else {
    // User is not logged in, redirect to login page
    header("Location: login.php");
    exit();
}