killSession() PHP function inside $(window).unload

Question

I'm doing a simple chat script and I have the killSession function which kills the current session and deletes the user from the DB. The problem is that after the name is set and verified the chat form doesn't load, it just kills the session and goes back to the loginForm(). Here's the script:

<?php
if (!isset($_SESSION['name'])) {
 loginForm(); // set a name for chat
} else {
?>
 // chat form

 $(window).unload(function () {
  <?php  killSession(); ?>
 });

Is there a way to trigger killSession() only after I refresh or close the page?

UPDATE:

Still can't figure it out. Maybe I need a break.

$(window).unload(function () {
 $.get("killSession.php", { name:"test" }); // i set the name to test for testing
});

Here's the killSession.php page:

session_start();
function killSession($name) {
 include("config.php");
 mysql_query("DELETE FROM sessions WHERE name='$name'");
 session_destroy();
 header("Location: index.php");
}

killSession($_GET['name']);

The $.get still doesn't work, so I tried it separatly via the browser. killSession.php?name=test will delete from the DB, but won't kill the session.

Answer 1

The session is killed immediately when the PHP function killSession is called. So your code will kill the session whenever it’s executed.

What you need to do is to call the PHP function killSession only when the the onunload event is fired. And calling a PHP function out of JavaScript is only possible with sending a new request to the server.

So you need to send a request to a script that then calls the killSession function, maybe something like this:

$(window).unload(function () {
    $.get("killSession.php");
});

And inside the killSession.php you then call the PHP function killSession.

Answer 2

i would recommend hidden iframe calling PHP kill session script or AJAX HTTPrequest GET method

Answer 3

The request is not working because it is async this means that you're javascript does not have to wait for the server. Making the request synchronous will make the javascript wait for a response:

$(document).ready(function()
{
    $(window).unload(function() 
    { 
        $.ajax
        ({
            type: "GET",
            url: "killSession.php",
            async: false,
            data: "name=test",
            success: function(msg)
            {
                alert(msg);
            },
            error: function(XMLHttpRequest, textStatus, errorThrown)
            {
                alert("I failed");
            }
        });
    });
});

On ajax:

I'm assuming that you think that whenever you call Location: index.php in php (per ajax).That the browser will redirect there. Ajax doesn't work this way in fact it does the opposite, it bypasses the browser completely. This is what makes ajax so useful. Everything you echo in index.php is what jQuery receives back from the request. You need to do something with it. I'm just alerting it in my snippet as an example. I also use error to see if the request fails. You might also want to look into firebug. You can use the console tab to see all your ajax requests.

PS: You might also want to start the session in the first php script.