What is the purpose of session_start() in PHP code?

The purpose of session_start() in PHP code is to start a new session or resume an existing session. This function must be called before any output is sent to the browser in order to utilize session variables. It initializes the session data and assigns a unique session ID to the user.

<?php
// Start or resume a session
session_start();

// Now you can set session variables or access existing ones
$_SESSION['username'] = 'JohnDoe';
?>