What are the best practices for debugging PHP code that involves session handling to ensure proper functionality?

When debugging PHP code that involves session handling, it is crucial to ensure that sessions are properly started and managed throughout the code. To ensure proper functionality, make sure to check for any session-related errors, such as session_start() not being called before accessing session variables. Additionally, verify that session variables are being set and retrieved correctly to avoid any unexpected behavior.

<?php
// Start the session
session_start();

// Check if session variables are set
if(isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    $user_id = $_SESSION['user_id'];
    // Use the user_id variable as needed
} else {
    // Handle the case when the user is not logged in
}
?>