Question

I am planning on creating a number of web applications that allows the user to share an account between these applications. I am using apache, php and mysql.

My question is, is it possible for the user to login on one server and then be able to use all the applications with these login details. I was thinking of using some kind of web service/api that can be accessed by the other applications but I am not entirely sure that this is the best way.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You might want to go for the popular OpenID:

OpenID is an open standard that
describes how users can be
authenticated in a decentralized
manner, obviating the need for
services to provide their own ad hoc
systems and allowing users to
consolidate their digital identities.

There is also OAuth authentication system:

OAuth (Open Authorization) is an open
standard for authorization. It allows
users to share their private resources
(e.g. photos, videos, contact lists)
stored on one site with another site
without having to hand out their
credentials, typically username and
password.