Authenticating Users by Database Query
The most common method of authentication for database-backed sites is to use the database. Why bother with clunky text files when you have the speed and ease of an SQL database at your fingertips?
Database-based authentication can use the same features as file-based authentication, such as md5() or crypt() encryption. Usernames and passwords are stored in a table on the database. You can store other information in this table as well, such as email addresses or first and last names, as you saw in the example applications in Chapter 5.
This next script provides a bare-bones approach to using a database to authenticate users. It uses plain-text passwords, but you can easily include encrypted passwords using ...
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