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Storing variables accross a shopping cart

Hi all,

I am making a website that is able to creating online bookings for four seperate products.

Can someone please explain to me the processes that normally used in industry for shopping cart type website. e.g. is the data for each product stored into tables as each item is added and then upon the final submit of the purchase via a form does this then get copied into the main booking tables?

Or as products are selected are the purchases stored into PHP variables and passed from script to script?

This is a 500 point question so please justify your answers as only the best answers will be looked on with favour. Also if you can ellaborate at all on the shopping cart type process with PHP and MySQL that would be very nice of you.

Many thanks to you all

pjcrooks2000

_GeG_

they use $_SESSION for the cart for short time storage, put the order data in a database, if they want to store it for a longer period, and when the order is accepted/completed..., they put it in their books (main booking table if it is a very advanced system)
If you want to have a good example, look at http://oscommerce.org/
oh, let me elaborate: http://www.google.at/search?q=tutorial+shopping+cart

SOLUTION

_GeG_

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pjcrooks2000

ASKER

Hi _GeG_

Thanks for replying, it's quite late here at the moment and I have had a few shall we say. I will give your answer due attention in the morning and respond to you asap :)

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Diablo84

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_GeG_

@diablo: you should have used the word tutorial in your post, then it would be included in my elaboration ;)
great explanation

pjcrooks2000

ASKER

Yes I agree a great explanation diablo and thanks to you too GeG.

Here is justification on how I am accepting the answer:

The accepted answer shall be awarded to Diablo as I find the explanation to be very thorough and was exactly the sort of answer I was looking for. However I cannot deny the assistance provided by GeG and I shall award the assisted answer and I will now close the question and award points as I see to be appropriate.

I thank you both for your input and hope to be able to call on your assistance in the future.

:)

pjcrooks2000

Diablo84

@ _GeG_

:)

Thank you

@ pjcrooks2000

no problem, best of luck with your script