passing and receiving string variables using php - php

Question

I am passing the string value through link in the URL to the next page like this <a href="ApplicationRegister.php?plan=trial">
In the ApplicationRegister.php page, i am getting this value like this $plan = $_GET["plan"];
and i will put this into a session variable like this $_SESSION['plans'] = $plan;
Here i am getting the value. but after the if statement i am not getting the value for this plan even after using Session variable.
My complete code is like this
$plan = $_GET["plan"];
echo $plan;
$_SESSION['plan'] = $plan;
$plans = $_SESSION['plan'];
echo $_SESSION['plans'];
include('connect.php');
If (isset($_POST['submit']))
{
$CompanyName = $_POST['CompanyName'];
$CompanyEmail = $_POST['CompanyEmail'];
$CompanyContact = $_POST['CompanyContact'];
$CompanyAddress = $_POST['CompanyAddress'];
$StoreName = $_POST['StoreName'];
echo $plans;
$myURL ="$_SERVER[HTTP_HOST]";
$myURL =$StoreName.'.'.$myURL;
if (stripos($myURL, 'www.') !== 0) {
$myURL = 'www.' . $myURL;
}
if (stripos($myURL, 'http://') !== 0) {
$myURL = 'http://' .$myURL;
}
if(stripos($myURL, '.com') !== 0) {
$myURL = $myURL . '.com';
}
echo $plans;
$RegistrationType = $_POST['RegistrationType'];
$Status = "Active";
$sql = "select * from plans where planname = '$plans'";
echo $sql;
mysql_query($sql) or die (mysql_error());
$planID = $row['planid'];
$query1 = "select count(CompanyEmail) from ApplicationRegister where CompanyEmail = '$CompanyEmail'" ;
$result1 = mysql_query($query1) or die ("ERROR: " . mysql_error());
$msg = "";
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result1))
{
if($row['count(CompanyEmail)'] > 0)
{
$msg = "<font color='red'> <b>This E-mail id is already registered </b></font> ";
break;
}
}
if($msg == "")
{
$query2 = "select count(URL) from ApplicationRegister where URL = '$myURL' ";
$result2 = mysql_query($query2) or die ("ERROR: " . mysql_error());
$msg = "";
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result2))
{
if($row['count(URL)'] > 0)
{
$msg = "<font color='red'> <b>This Stroename is already registered </b></font> ";
break;
}
}
if($msg == "")
{
$sql = "INSERT INTO ApplicationRegister(planid, CompanyName, CompanyEmail, CompanyContact, CompanyAddress, RegistrationType, ApplicationPlan, ApplicationStatus, URL, CreatedDate) VALUES ('$planID', '$CompanyName', '$CompanyEmail', '$CompanyContact', '$CompanyAddress', '$RegistrationType', '$plans', '$Status', '$myURL', NOW() )";
mysql_query($sql) or die(mysql_error());
$id = mysql_insert_id();
$_SESSION['application_id'] = $id;
if($plans == "trail")
{
header("Location: userRegister.php");
exit();
}
else
{
header("Location : PaymentGateway.php");
exit();
}
}
}
}
?>
Only in the beginning it holds the value , if i try to display it within theIf (isset($_POST['submit'])) it shows blank value for plans. Do not know what to do. Plz suggest
EDITED
Even after using like this, its the same. i do not know what may be the problem :(
$plan = $_GET["plan"];
echo $plan;
$_SESSION['plans'] = $plans;
echo $_SESSION['plans'];
// $plan = +$plan;
include('connect.php');
If (isset($_POST['submit']))
{
$CompanyName = $_POST['CompanyName'];
$CompanyEmail = $_POST['CompanyEmail'];
$CompanyContact = $_POST['CompanyContact'];
$CompanyAddress = $_POST['CompanyAddress'];
$StoreName = $_POST['StoreName'];
echo $_SESSION['plans'];
EDITED
In ApplicationRegister.php, i have passed the hiddenvalue which i got fro\m previous page like this
<input type="hidden" name="plan" value="<?php echo $plan ?>"/>
then POST method i have used this. Now i am getting the value for it. Thanks to all
EDITED
if($PlanName == "trail")
{
header("Location: userRegister.php");
exit();
}
else
{
header("Location : PaymentGateway.php");
exit();
}

Answer 1

It's because you're not calling session_start() at the top of the page. You need that for your sessions to persist across requests (which is the point of sessions)

Answer 2

As well as not calling session_start();, this code is wrong:
$plan = $_GET["plan"];
echo $plan;
$_SESSION['plan'] = $plan;
$plans = $_SESSION['plan'];
echo $_SESSION['plans'];
It should be:
$plan = $_GET["plan"];
echo $plan;
$_SESSION['plan'] = $plan;
$plans = $_SESSION['plans'];
echo $_SESSION['plans'];
You are setting $_SESSION['plan'] and then trying to access $_SESSION['plans'].
Also, are you clicking a link or submitting a form? You say that you have a link, yet your code tries to access values passed from a form.
If you are using a form, don't use links. Instead, use a select element to select a plan, and then change $plan = $_GET["plan"]; to $plan = $_POST["plan"];.
EDIT:
For the redirection problem, try this code:
echo "<pre>** Plan Name: **\n";
var_dump($PlanName);
echo "</pre>";
if($PlanName == "trail")
{
header("Location: userRegister.php");
exit();
}
else
{
header("Location: PaymentGateway.php");
exit();
}
and see what it outputs.

Answer 3

When someone clicks the link, it's going to set the variable properly. However, it's not going to hit the $_POST['submit'] logic, because it's not a post, just a get. Then, assuming your actually posting to that page at a later point, trying to access anything in $_GET will be null, and will then reset the session variable to null.
Your first page should have code something like this
<form action="ApplicationRegister.php" method="post">
<select name="plan">
<option value="trial">Trial</option>
</select>
<input type="submit"/>
</form>
Then, you check for $_POST['plan'] and $_POST['submit']