Most interactive websites nowadays would require a user to log in into the website's system in order to provide a customized experience for the user. Once the user has logged in, the website will be able to provide a presentation that is tailored to the user's preferences.
A basic login system typically contains 3 components:
1. The component that allows a user to register his preferred login id and password
2. The component that allows the system to verify and authenticate the user when he subsequently logs in
3. The component that sends the user's password to his registered email address if the user forgets his password
Such a system can be easily created using PHP and MySQL.
================================================================
Component 1 ? Registration
Component 1 is typically implemented using a simple HTML form that contains 3 fields and 2 buttons:
1. A preferred login id field
2. A preferred password field
3. A valid email address field
4. A Submit button
5. A Reset button
Assume that such a form is coded into a file named register.html. The following HTML code excerpt is a typical example. When the user has filled in all the fields, the register.php page is called when the user clicks on the Submit button.
[form name="register" method="post" action="register.php"]
[input name="login id" type="text" value="loginid" size="20"/][br]
[input name="password" type="text" value="password" size="20"/][br]
[input name="email" type="text" value="email" size="50"/][br]
[input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"/]
[input type="reset" name="reset" value="reset"/] [/form]
The following code excerpt can be used as part of register.php to process the registration. It connects to the MySQL database and inserts a line of data into the table used to store the registration information.
@mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_login", "mysql_pwd") or die("Cannot connect to DB!"); @mysql_select_db("tbl_login") or die("Cannot select DB!"); $sql="INSERT INTO login_tbl (loginid, password and email) VALUES (".$loginid.",".$password.",".$email.")"; $r = mysql_query($sql); if(!$r) {
$err=mysql_error();
print $err;
exit(); }
The code excerpt assumes that the MySQL table that is used to store the registration data is named tbl_login and contains 3 fields ? the loginid, password and email fields. The values of the $loginid, $password and $email variables are passed in from the form in register.html using the post method.
================================================================
Component 2 ? Verification and Authentication
A registered user will want to log into the system to access the functionality provided by the website. The user will have to provide his login id and password for the system to verify and authenticate.
This is typically done through a simple HTML form. This HTML form typically contains 2 fields and 2 buttons:
1. A login id field
2. A password field
3. A Submit button
4. A Reset button
Assume that such a form is coded into a file named authenticate.html. The following HTML code excerpt is a typical example. When the user has filled in all the fields, the authenticate.php page is called when the user clicks on the Submit button.
[form name="authenticate" method="post" action="authenticate.php"]
[input name="login id" type="text" value="loginid" size="20"/][br]
[input name="password" type="text" value="password" size="20"/][br]
[input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"/]
[input type="reset" name="reset" value="reset"/] [/form]
The following code excerpt can be used as part of authenticate.php to process the login request. It connects to the MySQL database and queries the table used to store the registration information.
@mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_login", "mysql_pwd") or die("Cannot connect to DB!"); @mysql_select_db("tbl_login") or die("Cannot select DB!"); $sql="SELECT loginid FROM login_tbl WHERE loginid='".$loginid."' and password='".$password."'"; $r = mysql_query($sql); if(!$r) {
$err=mysql_error();
print $err;
exit(); } if(mysql_affected_rows()==0){
print "no such login in the system. please try again.";
exit(); } else{
print "successfully logged into system.";
//proceed to perform website's functionality ? e.g. present information to the user }
As in component 1, the code excerpt assumes that the MySQL table that is used to store the registration data is named tbl_login and contains 3 fields ? the loginid, password and email fields. The values of the $loginid and $password variables are passed in from the form in authenticate.html using the post method.
================================================================
Component 3 ? Forgot Password
A registered user may forget his password to log into the website's system. In this case, the user will need to supply his loginid for the system to retrieve his password and send the password to the user's registered email address.
This is typically done through a simple HTML form. This HTML form typically contains 1 field and 2 buttons:
1. A login id field
2. A Submit button
3. A Reset button
Assume that such a form is coded into a file named forgot.html. The following HTML code excerpt is a typical example. When the user has filled in all the fields, the forgot.php page is called when the user clicks on the Submit button.
[form name="forgot" method="post" action="forgot.php"]
[input name="login id" type="text" value="loginid" size="20"/][br]
[input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"/]
[input type="reset" name="reset" value="reset"/] [/form]
The following code excerpt can be used as part of forgot.php to process the login request. It connects to the MySQL database and queries the table used to store the registration information.
@mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_login", "mysql_pwd") or die("Cannot connect to DB!"); @mysql_select_db("tbl_login") or die("Cannot select DB!"); $sql="SELECT password, email FROM login_tbl WHERE loginid='".$loginid."'"; $r = mysql_query($sql); if(!$r) {
$err=mysql_error();
print $err;
exit(); } if(mysql_affected_rows()==0){
print "no such login in the system. please try again.";
exit(); } else {
$row=mysql_fetch_array($r);
$password=$row["password"];
$email=$row["email"];
$subject="your password";
$header="from:you@yourdomain.com";
$content="your password is ".$password;
mail($email, $subject, $row, $header);
print "An email containing the password has been sent to you";
}
As in component 1, the code excerpt assumes that the MySQL table that is used to store the registration data is named tbl_login and contains 3 fields ? the loginid, password and email fields. The value of the $loginid variable is passed from the form in forgot.html using the post method.
================================================================
Conclusion
< p>The above example is to illustrate how a very basic login system can be implemented. The example can be enhanced to include password encryption and additional functionality ? e.g. to allow users to edit their login information.Used with the author's permission.
This article is written by John L.
John L is the Webmaster of designer banners (designer banners).
Any new website competing on the internet, needs to take... Read More
You want to give your site's visitors a way to... Read More
80% of your Web site is Maintenance!Once your Web site... Read More
Globalize Your WebsiteThe Internet has unlocked a wide array of... Read More
SiteSpinnerSiteSpinner is a user-friendly web site development tool that includes... Read More
In the region where my company is located, South Bend,... Read More
Starting and maintaining a business is challenging enough without the... Read More
There are many elements that are key to successful web... Read More
How can we add Word Rich Content to our Websites... Read More
A website is like an information flow, with you as... Read More
What is the most important part of your online business?Many... Read More
Do you need a web site? Are you considering getting... Read More
Build it and they will come is not always true;... Read More
Directory Generator, a product from Armand Morin and Marc Quarles,... Read More
We are clearly well past the innocent "golden age" of... Read More
Your web site will be your window to the world.... Read More
If you are like me you have wanted to build... Read More
An Introduction to Server Side IncludesBeginner? That's OK!While much has... Read More
If you were asked to put a value on your... Read More
Do you make your website just to entertain yourself or... Read More
Analyzing traffic to a site is a key factor in... Read More
Webmasters deal with a myriad of complex design challenges every... Read More
"Build it and they will come."--Filed of Dreams (1989) If... Read More
"'Page Not Found' on this Server. Check the URL and... Read More
The Internet car buyer is an elusive animal. Trying to... Read More
limo O'Hare Bonfield ..Internet Marketing is not a miracle marketing strategy ? competition... Read More
When you take a look at the most visited sites... Read More
One of the biggest mistakes that most online retailers make... Read More
Revenues are often lost because many business owners don't see... Read More
Designing an E-commerce Web site is not as simple as... Read More
Your site is getting traffic, but conversion rates are horrible.... Read More
Like most average persons, I wanted some extra money to... Read More
Globalize Your WebsiteThe Internet has unlocked a wide array of... Read More
When I set up my website I felt paypal was... Read More
Optimize your time. How much time each day must you... Read More
Webmasters deal with a myriad of complex design challenges every... Read More
Why do some sites succeed while the vast majority of... Read More
Your site is fast and getting traffic, but conversion rates... Read More
Right after the thought, "I need a website," people usually... Read More
If you've been developing websites on Mars for the past... Read More
Are you aware that 90% of the websites on the... Read More
So you have decided that you want to do freelance... Read More
One of the most important parts of establishing a new... Read More
1. Be clear on your purpose.Building a website can be... Read More
Looks like every client wants a Flash site these days... Read More
Starting an internet business can be confusing to non-veterans. The... Read More
"I don't sell anything online, I don't advertise online, in... Read More
There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced... Read More
1. As the first step, "Hire a web designer."First create... Read More
There have been many significant changes to the face of... Read More
Web Development |