What is the significance of using session_start() in PHP when working with $_SESSION variables?

When working with $_SESSION variables in PHP, it is essential to use session_start() at the beginning of your script to initialize a session or resume the current one. This function creates a session or resumes the current session based on a session identifier passed via a GET or POST request, or a cookie. Without session_start(), you will not be able to access or manipulate $_SESSION variables across different pages of your website. 

<?php
session_start();

// Now you can work with $_SESSION variables
$_SESSION['username'] = 'JohnDoe';
?>

Keywords

session_start PHP $_SESSION variables session management state management

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