Getting a really annoying error when I want to start a session in php

Question

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PHP headers already sent
PHP session_start() error?

I'm getting this error:

Warning: session_start() [function.session-start]: Cannot send session cookie - headers already sent by (output started at C:\xampp\htdocs\index.php:27) in C:\xampp\htdocs\connect.php on line 2

Warning: session_start() [function.session-start]: Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent (output started at C:\xampp\htdocs\index.php:27) in C:\xampp\htdocs\connect.php on line 2

I'm don't have a clue what this means or how to handle it!! ANY help will be very appreciated!

Here is my 2 files that "causes" the problem:

connect.php

<?php
session_start();

$server = 'localhost';
$username = 'root';
$password = '';
$database = 'mydatabase';

if(!mysql_connect('localhost', 'root', ''))
{
    exit('Error: could not establish database connection');
}
if(!mysql_select_db($database))
{
    exit('Error: could not select the database');
}
?>

index.php

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<head>
    <title> ShareLink </title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" type="text/css">
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen,projection" href="css/ui.totop.css" />
    <script src="js/jquery-1.3.2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
    <script src="js/easing.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
    <script src="js/jquery.ui.totop.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        $(document).ready(function() {

            var defaults = {
                containerID: 'moccaUItoTop', // fading element id
                containerHoverClass: 'moccaUIhover', // fading element hover class
                scrollSpeed: 1200,
                easingType: 'linear' 
            };


            $().UItoTop({ easingType: 'easeOutQuart' });

        });
    </script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <?php
    include 'connect.php';
    include 'header.php';

    $sql = "SELECT
                categories.cat_id,
                categories.cat_name,
                categories.cat_description,
                COUNT(topics.topic_id) AS topics
            FROM
                categories
            LEFT JOIN
                topics
            ON
                topics.topic_id = categories.cat_id
            GROUP BY
                categories.cat_name, categories.cat_description, categories.cat_id";

    $result = mysql_query($sql);

    if(!$result)
    {
        echo 'The categories could not be displayed, please try again later.';
    }
    else
    {
        if(mysql_num_rows($result) == 0)
        {
            echo '<br/>';
            echo '<h3>Welcome to ShareLink! Here you can rate and share links with other users.</h3>';
            echo '<br/>';
            echo 'Please <a href="signup.php"><b>register</b></a> or  <a href="signin.php"><b>log in</b></a> to start sharing your links...';
            echo '<br/><br/>';
        }
        else
        {
            //prepare the table
            echo '<table border="1">
                  <tr>
                    <th>Category</th>
                    <th>Last topic</th>
                  </tr>';   

            while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result))
            {               
                echo '<tr>';
                    echo '<td class="leftpart">';
                        echo '<h3><a href="category.php?id=' . $row['cat_id'] . '">' . $row['cat_name'] . '</a></h3>' . $row['cat_description'];
                    echo '</td>';
                    echo '<td class="rightpart">';

                    //fetch last topic for each cat
                        $topicsql = "SELECT
                                        topic_id,
                                        topic_subject,
                                        topic_date,
                                        topic_cat
                                    FROM
                                        topics
                                    WHERE
                                        topic_cat = " . $row['cat_id'] . "
                                    ORDER BY
                                        topic_date
                                    DESC
                                    LIMIT
                                        1";

                        $topicsresult = mysql_query($topicsql);

                        if(!$topicsresult)
                        {
                            echo 'Last topic could not be displayed.';
                        }
                        else
                        {
                            if(mysql_num_rows($topicsresult) == 0)
                            {
                                echo 'no topics';
                            }
                            else
                            {
                                while($topicrow = mysql_fetch_assoc($topicsresult))
                                echo '<a href="topic.php?id=' . $topicrow['topic_id'] . '">' . $topicrow['topic_subject'] . '</a> at ' . date('d-m-Y', strtotime($topicrow['topic_date']));
                            }
                        }
                    echo '</td>';
                echo '</tr>';
            }
        }
        //rate the link
                //echo '<tr><td><b>Rate this link</b></td></tr>';
    }
    //include 'footer.php';
    ?>

Like I said, I really need to get this working so your help will mean a lot!

Really now? Who upvotes these can't-be-bothered-to-google questions? — mario, Oct 14 '11 at 08:20

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 14 '11 at 08:11

just what the error-message and the documentation* say: you have to call session_start(); before any output is sent to the browser. in your case, include connect.php at the very top of your index.php instead of somewhere in the middle.

alternatively, just add

<?php
session_start();
?>

at the top of index.php and leave out that line in connect.php.

*quoting the documentation:

Note:

To use cookie-based sessions, session_start() must be called before outputing anything to the browser.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 14 '11 at 08:11

You need to start the session before any output to the browser.

You've already output the document header etc before you include connect.php- you should initialise session_start(); before the line <!DOCTYPE HTML>, see the first usage note under the SESSION reference in the PHP docs.

Thunraz · Answer 3 · 2011-10-14T08:19:27.193

1

You are not allowed to send output before setting the session. Put the include("connect.php") statement at the beginning of your index.php.

This error occurs because session_start() sends a cookie to the client to be able to identify the user. But cookies can only be sent to the browser if you haven't generated any output yet.

edited Oct 14 '11 at 08:19

answered Oct 14 '11 at 08:11

Thunraz

570
5
18

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 14 '11 at 08:12

1

You NEED to put the session_start() call before any code is sent to the client (at the start of the page).

Just put your include 'connect.php'; right at the start of index.php !

answered Oct 14 '11 at 08:12

Aweb

174
3
15

Ok I understand but there are a couple of files that I used include 'connect.php';, not just index.php. What must I do in that case?? – Joe_B Oct 14 '11 at 08:45

ravi404 · Answer 5 · 2011-10-14T08:50:16.943

1

there are outputs in your index page before session_start(). Erase the session_start() from your connect.php and add it on the first line of your index page. it should work. or include your connect.php on the start of index page

edited Oct 14 '11 at 08:50

answered Oct 14 '11 at 08:15

ravi404

7,119
4
31
40

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 12 '12 at 11:03

0

Just put ob_start(); above the session_start();. And at the end of the page, before </body>, put ob_end_flush();. I once got this error. By turning on output buffering you can solve this problem.

edited Jan 12 '12 at 11:03

gmadd

1,146
9
18

answered Oct 14 '11 at 08:59

Sibu

42
6

Getting a really annoying error when I want to start a session in php

6 Answers6