When dealing with user access rights to different objects, is it more efficient to store the unique IDs in a session variable or a database table column in PHP?

When dealing with user access rights to different objects, it is generally more efficient to store the unique IDs in a database table column rather than in a session variable. Storing the IDs in a database table allows for easier management, scalability, and persistence across sessions. This approach also ensures that access rights can be easily modified and enforced at the database level.

// Example of storing unique IDs in a database table column

// Assuming we have a users table with a column for object access rights
// Here is a simplified example of checking if a user has access to a specific object

// Connect to the database
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=your_database', 'username', 'password');

// Get the user's access rights from the database
$user_id = $_SESSION['user_id'];
$object_id = 123; // Example object ID
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM user_access_rights WHERE user_id = :user_id AND object_id = :object_id");
$stmt->execute(['user_id' => $user_id, 'object_id' => $object_id]);
$access_rights = $stmt->fetch();

if ($access_rights) {
    // User has access to the object
    echo "User has access to object with ID $object_id";
} else {
    // User does not have access to the object
    echo "User does not have access to object with ID $object_id";
}