duplicating data entry when i refreshed browser?

[chrischia]

Hi, basically i am creating a form in php.
I have a simple php form for various input boxes.
I then post the data to another page with $_POST['abc']
and did an INSERT into ABC into mysql.

But how do i stop the script from inserting the data into mysql again if the user were to click on the refresh button? Becuase currently if the user would to click the refresh button again, another entry of data would be INSERTED into my MYSQL.

Urgent, please help. Thanks

[Dylan B]

On your action page

session_start();
if ($_SESSION['check'] != 'yes')
{
if (isset($_POST['submit']))
{
$_SESSION['check'] = 'yes';
// do your stuff
} 

There is probably a cleaner way to do it, though.

[chrischia]

thanks... this sounds cool. I'll go try it.

[stereofrog]

The golden rule is RAP -- Redirect After Post. You should always send "Location" header after accepting POST data.

[dbevfat]

Yes, RAP is the way to go

http://www.theserverside.com/article...irectAfterPost

[chrischia]

so what the difference in Dylannn's script and RAP rules?
Dylannn's script should work fine and it's a tweak around right?
Which is more of a professional way of doing things right?

[Dylan B]

RAP is cleaner.

[dbevfat]

so what the difference in Dylannn's script and RAP rules?
Dylannn's script should work fine and it's a tweak around right?
Which is more of a professional way of doing things right?

His method fails on a site with multiple submit forms, if care is not taken. Also, it uses sessions, which is not always the way to go, since it uses cookies which can be denied by clients.

[chrischia]

Then how should I implement the Redirect after POST RAP?
Any guide to lead me through?

I understand abit from the RAP links above but i do not know how to implement it.

[Dylan B]

[QUOTE=chrischia]Then how should I implement the Redirect after POST RAP?
Any guide to lead me through? [QUOTE]

After inserting all data into MySQL, but this

header("Location: /secondpage.html); 

And also, in your first post, you didn't mention anything about validating your input, are you?

[chrischia]

so do i put it inside the header in php tag right after insert?
<?php
$query = "INSERT into ABC values ...";
header("Location: /secondpage.html");?>

i have used javascript to valid so shouldn't be of any problem?