Problems with session variables

I need to access the user's amember username so I can store info they provide in a mysql db and retrieve it whenever they want it.

If the user has just logged in I can use the session variable method to access the amember username no problem.

However, this doesn't work in cases where the site is accessible to the user via cookie (through a previous successful login).

I know this is an issue with session variables, but I need a foolproof way to be able to get the username at all times regardless of how amember gives the person access (session vs cookie).

I guess one way to enforce this is to only set the cookie expiration to the same duration as the session (how do I do this?)

Perhaps others have another way to tie data to specific members?

A big thanks in advance!

Here's an example of the problem:

I login and all session variables are available and work (yes, using $_SESSION['_amember_login']).

I then ignore the site for say, 2 hours. I leave the tab open but spend the time away from the computer or surfing other sites in different browser tabs.

When I refresh the site tab, I'm still logged in but the session variables are empty.

Writing my own cookie seems like an imposing job - I'd have to intercept every login, logout, timeout etc. I 'm not sure I can do that.


By the way, it's probably relevant to say I'm using new_rewrite to protect the folder.

Seems like you're developing your own plugin. May I suggest to check out that part of the manual. Maybe you get some creative ideas from that to fix it?

I'm not writing a plugin. I simply have php page that stores and retrieves a single record from a database based on the member's login credentials.

My site is fully working and ready to go live except for this problem which came up in final testing. This is a dealbreaker. I need to be able to save info based on a unique member id.

I don't want to add code or complicate the site unnecessarily when it shouldn't be needed. My strong preference is for the amember software to work as advertised.

I have found amember session variables in conjunction with new_rewrite to be completely unreliable. Specifically, the session variables disappear while the user remains logged in.

The script I'm using to test is:

PHP:

<?php 
session_start(); 
?><pre><?php
print_r($_SESSION); 
?> 


It lives in the member's protected area.

I don't want to complicate my site and lose dev days by coding around the problem. I'd rather resolve it.

Thanks for the responses so far. Any ideas how I can *fix* this?

So we can go ahead with our launch, I'm going to go with the simplest workaround I can for this problem.

At the start of each php page I will check to see if the session variables are still available. If not, I will force logout the member. When they log back in the session variables will be set correctly.

Maybe it wasn't your first intention to develop a plugin, but what you wrote points in the direction that you are, perhaps not consciously
Just check the manual part that describes the plugin development. If it's of no use than no harm would be done anyway, now would it?