If else logged in - sessions

[adammc]

Hi Folks,

Can I possible have some consructive critism on this code?

I basically want to check which type of member is logged in and then display the appropriate menu.

else {   // if the user is logged in - display appropriate menu


if (isset($_SESSION['student_id'])) 

    {
    echo "student menu";
    }
    
    
if (isset($_SESSION['partner_id'])) 

    {
    echo "partner menu";
    }
    

} 

Am I doing this right?
Could I do anyting different?

Many thanks

[Mittineague]

Are the user types unique? That is, can someone be both a "student" and a "partner"? If not then "if else" may be better than 2 "if"s
Are there more than 2 user types? If so perhaps a "switch case" would be best.
You may also want to do more than simply check if the SESSION is set. Maybe test to see if it validates to a particular criteria.

[adammc]

Hi, thanks for the reply

user_id is unique as its an ato inc mysql data type

So I use 'if' on the first check then 'ifelse' on the 2nd check right?

[Mittineague]

Once an "if" is TRUE, PHP won't bother with the rest of them, so it should save server resources (albiet a nominal amount). eg.

if ($a == 'a')
{
//do a stuff
}
else if ($b == 'b')
{
//do b stuff
}
else
{
//do default stuff
} 

Using a series of "if"s the server will test each even when you know it will be FALSE. This probably only matters when the test is resource intensive (db call, lengthy calculation, etc.) but why not develop good practice while your at it anyway?