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Chapter 13 of 38

Superglobals

Use request, server, session, cookie, environment, file, and global arrays safely.

36 minutes 10 quick checksBy Subha Prasad
Lesson 13 of 38Course navigation
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Lesson content

Read, practise, then check your understanding

Superglobals include $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, $_FILES, $_SERVER, $_ENV, $_SESSION, $_REQUEST, and $GLOBALS. Availability does not imply trust.

Practical example

<?php
$page = filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'page', FILTER_VALIDATE_INT, ['options' => ['default' => 1, 'min_range' => 1]]);
$method = $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] ?? 'GET';

Copy validated values into named domain inputs rather than passing superglobals through the application. Avoid $_REQUEST because it hides provenance. Proxy headers, filenames, environment values, and cookies require explicit trust/configuration rules.

Knowledge check

Answer every question correctly to complete this chapter.

Which statement best describes $_GET?
Which PHP term matches this description: Query-string input parsed into an array.
Which statement best describes $_POST?
Which PHP term matches this description: Parsed form body data for supported content types.
Which statement best describes $_SERVER?
Which PHP term matches this description: Request and server execution metadata.
Which statement best describes $_SESSION?
Which PHP term matches this description: Server-side session state available after session initialization.
Which statement best describes $_COOKIE?
Which PHP term matches this description: Cookie values supplied by the client and therefore untrusted.

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