What are the best practices for storing form data temporarily before confirmation in PHP, considering the potential limitations of cookies and sessions?

When storing form data temporarily before confirmation in PHP, it is best to use a combination of sessions and database storage to ensure data persistence and security. By storing the data in sessions and then saving it to a database upon confirmation, you can maintain data integrity even if the user closes their browser or navigates away from the page. This approach also helps avoid potential limitations of cookies, such as size restrictions and security concerns. 

// Start session
session_start();

// Store form data in session
$_SESSION['form_data'] = $_POST;

// Upon confirmation, save data to database
if (isset($_POST['confirm'])) {
    // Save data to database
    // Example: $db->insert($_SESSION['form_data']);
    
    // Clear session data
    unset($_SESSION['form_data']);
}

Keywords

PHP form data temporary storage cookies sessions

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