<?php
        $_SESSION["username"] = "hockeyFanatic";
    ?>

To read the session variable of username = hockeyFanatic, make a request to the $_SESSION var of username:

    <?php
        echo $_SESSION["username"]; //  This will display "hockeyFanatic to the screen
        $name = $_SESSION["username"]; // This writes and stores "hockeyFanatic" to the var $name
    ?>

If you care to remove a session variable while a user is still surfing through your site, you can unset() the $_SESSION the variable.

    <?php
        unset($_SESSION["username"]);
    ?>

Now the username variable has been removed from the users session. You could also completely kill off the session and all variable's and behavior, by calling the destroy() method which is similar to the create method but the total opposite as in live() and death():

    <?php
        session_destroy();
    ?>

That's all it take's to work with php sessions. Now what you do with it is all up to you and whether you prefer cookies or sessions.

I prefer using cookie's over sessions most of the time, but I mostly prefer Oreo's with some milk and my son agree's with that as well.