title: Why doesn't CodeIgniter use native PHP Sessions?
body: <p>The PHP Framework "CodeIgniter" provides a Session Class, which does not use native PHP-Sessions. Instead, they developped an own Session system using Cookies.</p>
  
  <p>On their Website <a href="http://ellislab.com/codeigniter/user_guide/libraries/sessions.html" rel="nofollow">CodeIgniter.com</a> they write the following:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Note: The Session class does not utilize native PHP sessions. It generates its own session data, offering more flexibility for developers.
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>As also mentioned below, only a maximum of 4KB can be saved.</p>
  
  <pre><code>Note: Cookies can only hold 4KB of data, so be careful not to exceed the capacity. The encryption process in particular produces a longer data string than the original so keep careful track of how much data you are storing.
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>So, how does this give more flexibility to the programmer at all? What was the actual Reason of the developers to <strong>not</strong> use native PHP Sessions?</p>
  
  <p>Thank you for your Information!</p>