session elapsed time

Greetings!

I think when users take the test, you should store the start time in session. Then, when user leave the test (by clicking on "leave" link, for example), you can check current time to see how much time has passed. Then, you can add this time period to the total time your users had taken so far.

no sessions will not work for this.  A session is open for as long as the user FIRST visits a page and makes some selection that the session records.  If he comes back later and does NOTHING at all, the session timer is still ticking.  He can come back 20 times in 20 hours, do absolutely nothing -- or do something -- and the session timer CONTINUES to tick regardless.  Sessions will not work for this ACTIVITY BASED timer.

You will have to use cookies, because only in that way can you record the ACTIONS or else INACTIONS of the user.  It is going to be tricky exactly how to do this, if you want a solution, suggest which actions will trigger a "continue" mode, and which actions will trigger a "terminate" mode.

Thank you scrathcyboy,
May be I can simplfy the problem.
If I set the initial number of minutes to 60 minutes (or 900,000 miliseconds) and record this in the db,   which is the time allowed for the test, and call it 'all_Time'. Then each time the student visits the page, I need to pass a variable (timeLeft) from the javascript to php and update the db with this.
In other words I do not need to deal with 'time()' in real terms, just the minutes and seconds remaining.
So, when the student comes back to the page next time, the updated minutes left in the db will become the new time limit.

Unfortunately, I am not quite sure how I should call these variables and how to pass them from javascript to php and back from php to javascript.

If I give you the script I am currently using, may be you can help me modify the script.
Here is the script for the whole time event of the test page: (I know I need to change
var timeLeft = minutes*60*1000;   to something like    var timeLeft = '<? echo $all_Time?>;':  to pass the sql var to javascript, but how and where in the script below do I pass the timeLeft to php so that the db can be updated.)


<script type="text/javascript">
var minutes = 2;
var timeLeft = minutes*60*1000;
var tId = "";
var leave = "";
function countdown() {
       timeLeft -= 1000;

      if (timeLeft<=0){
      nextPage();
      } else {
      updateTimer();
   }
 }
window.onload=function() {
  //leave = setTimeout("nextPage()", timeLeft);
  tId = setInterval('countdown()',1000);
  updateTimer();

}
function updateTimer() {
   var timerArea = document.getElementById('timer');
   var numSeconds = timeLeft / 1000;
   var displaySeconds = numSeconds % 60;
   var displayMinutes = (numSeconds - displaySeconds) / 60;

   // format display a little more by putting a leading 0 for small seconds
   if (displaySeconds < 10) {
       displaySeconds = "0" + displaySeconds;
   }

      timerArea.value = displayMinutes + ":" + displaySeconds;
}
      function nextPage(){
            //assuming you have <form id="English1"...>
            var f = document.getElementById("English1");
            for( var i=0; i < f.elements.length; ++i)
            {
                    if( String(f.elements[i].type).toLowerCase() != "submit" )
                  f.elements[i].disabled=true;

            }
            clearInterval(tId);
            clearTimeout();
            alert('Time allowed for the English test has expired! Please press the Maths Test button to continue');
      }
       function activate(f){
  if (timeLeft > 100000 && confirm('Are you sure you want to leave the English test? You still have some time left to go back and check your answers. If you are sure you want to go on to the Maths Test, please click OK button. Otherwise, click Cancel button to return to the English test and use the remaining minutes to improve your English score.'))
return false;
            for( var i=0; i < f.elements.length; ++i)
            {
                  f.elements[i].disabled=false;
            }
      return true;
      }
</script>

OK.
I am working on this.
Just one question:
The whole javascript I copied above is also in the HEAD section. Should I put the 'var timeLeft = <?php $timeLeft ?>' in the same script block on top, just before 'var timeLeft = 6000;'

Would the two 'var timeLeft' declerations conflict?

another thing.
Can I actually put timeLeft in the db with the initial value of 6000 and update it with the new timeLeft value when the user leaves the page.
This way I would only have the 'var timeLeft = <?php $timeLeft ?>' in the javascript and can delete the 'var timeLeft = 6000;'

I need the timeLeft value updated in the db, so that everytimer the user leaves the page by refreshing or by navigating to another page, without actually using the 'submit' button of English1 form. When the user submits the English1 form the test is over and the timeLeft is no longer relevant.

Your suggestions are just what I am looking for, but how do I activate the sql update event when the user leaves the page without submitting the form.

I am sure this is quite simple, but I am such a beginner on this.

"but how do I activate the sql update event when the user leaves the page without submitting the form."

You can't,  a server script will have to get the value at some point to save it.  The only other way is to use a cookie on the users system, and if the kids are smart enough, they can get around it.  The code I gave you basically saves the timeleft in a variable, and it will have to go to the server and be saved for the student, in a server cookie or session, and then passed back to the student when they sign on again.

None of this is simple programming, and if you don't know javascript, or ASP or PHP, and sessions and cookie management, I doubt you will be able to pull it off without a lot of reading and working with the code

Is there a way I can use an onUnload function to pass the timeLeft to server script.
I realy don't want to use cookies.