Doc #76358 [Ver]: Cannot change session name when session is active

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=76358&edit=1 ID: 76358 Updated by: cmb@php.net Reported by: tony at marston-home dot demon dot co dot uk Summary: Cannot change session name when session is active Status: Verified Type: Documentation Problem Package: Session related Operating System: Windows 10 PHP Version: 7.2.5 Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: > I expect session_name() to do what it has been doing for the > past 15 years, that is to return the existing session name while > assigning a new one. It did not change the session name, though. > The documentation clearly states "Get and/or set the current > session name", and the "and/or" indicates that it should be able > to do both at the same time. The documentation also clearly states: | Thus, you need to call session_name() for every request (and | before session_start() or session_register() are called). And: | If name is given and function updates the session name, name of | the old session is returned. Since session_name('foo') does not update the name of the session if it has already been started, it *must* not return the name of the old session according to the documentation. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-05-23 11:44:09] notasockpuppet at atotallyrealdomain dot com I am HORRIFIED to find that a change was made that was not personally signed off by Toby. I will not be using PHP any more, this is the final straw. I can cope with the weird names and inconsistent APIs and segfaults and projects possessed by demonic forces, but I WILL NOT support a community that does not respect such wise people as Tiny. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-05-23 08:27:33] tony at marston-home dot demon dot co dot uk I have checked that discussion, and NOWHERE does it mention a change in behaviour for session_name() that would cause a BC break. This was never identified, discussed, or voted upon, therefore I consider it to be an unauthorised change. Changing the behaviour back to what it originally was, and AS DOCUMENTED for the past 20 years, will not cause any BC breaks, so your "fix" for a problem which did not exist in the first place should be reverted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-05-23 06:43:48] a at b dot c dot de >Not all changes to PHP require an RFC. This one was mentioned on the internals list by @yohgaki >in mid October 2016 ("Fixing insane session_start() behaviors") and the discussion lasted >for a couple days without any dissenting opinions offered. During the discussion on the internals list and on github, @yohgaki did mention that he _should_ have written an RFC on the subject, but never got around to doing so. Perhaps he could write one ex post facto to consolidate the whys and wherefores of this change and serve as a future citation reference. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-05-22 11:42:45] tony at marston-home dot demon dot co dot uk How can reverting code which caused a BC break be a BC in itself? What existing scripts which may have been modified to get around the BC break which you introduced would be broken if the original AND DOCUMENTED behaviour were to be reinstated? If the userland fix to get around this BC break is to insert a call to session_write_close() before the call to session_name() then what harm would it cause? It would just mean that the call to session_write_close() would be redundant. It would certainly not cause an error. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-05-22 10:13:41] requinix@php.net I'm sorry but since this behavior now exists in PHP 7.2, fixing it would be a BC break and we wouldn't want to make developers in userland have to change their code to deal with our mistake. This should be discussed in the PHP internals group and voted upon. That is what you wanted, right? Due process? Or shall we ignore it this time too? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The remainder of the comments for this report are too long. To view the rest of the comments, please view the bug report online at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=76358 -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=76358&edit=1