How to make a button execute a php script?

Basic scenario:

• Store currently authenticated user’s unique id and time in a .txt file in the following format (as JSON):

json_encode(['user_id' => 1, 'created_at' => (new DateTime('now'))->format('Y-m-d H:i:s')]);

• Check the stored user_id and created_at fields in the file when a user attempts to sign in.
• If the file is empty, log the user in and write user’s unique id and time to the file.
• If the file is not empty and user_id field is same as the id of the user who attempts to log in and created_at field is not older than 12 hours ago (or your custom logic), just update created_at field in the file and log the user in.
• If the file is not empty and user_id field is same as the id of the user who attempts to log in, but passed more than 12 hours (or your custom logic), ask the user if he/she want to take over another user.
• If the file is not empty and user_id field is not same as the id of the user who attempts to log in ask the user if he/she want to take over another user.

Basic implementation:

1. Create a .txt file in your project directory.
2. Add these helper functions to your project (helpers.php in my case):

if (! function_exists('check_auth')) {
    function check_auth(): bool
    {
        if (! isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
            return false;
        }

        if (! file_exists('current_user.txt') || filesize('current_user.txt') === 0) {
            return true;
        }

        $trace = json_decode(file_get_contents('current_user.txt'));

        // You can write your own logic here.
        return (int) $trace->user_id === $_SESSION['user_id'] && (new DateTime($trace->created_at))->modify('+12 hours') > new Datetime('now');
    }
}

if (! function_exists('logout'))
{
    function logout()
    {
        if (isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
            $trace = json_decode(file_get_contents('current_user.txt'));

            if ((int) $trace->user_id === $_SESSION['user_id']) {
                file_put_contents('current_user.txt', '');
            }

            unset($_SESSION['user_id']);
        }
    }
}

if (! function_exists('redirect')) {
    function redirect(string $url, int $status_code = 303): void
    {
        header('Location: ' . $url, true, $status_code);
        die();
    }
}

3. Create a login page (login.php in my case):

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

// Start session.
session_start();

// Include helper functions.
require_once 'helpers.php';

// Redirect user to homepage/dashboard if authenticated.
if (check_auth()) {
    redirect('index.php');
    return;
}

if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=[DB_HOST];dbname=[DB_NAME];charset=utf8mb4', '[DB_USERNAME]', '[DB_PASSWORD]', [
        PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE            => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
        PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_OBJ,
        PDO::ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES   => false,
    ]);
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ?');
    $stmt->execute([$_POST['email']]);
    $user = $stmt->fetch();

    if (! ($user && password_verify($_POST['password'], $user->password))) {
        echo json_encode([
            'success' => false,
            'message' => 'These credentials don\'t match our records.',
        ]);
        return;
    }

    // Log user in if another is not authenticated.
    if (filesize('current_user.txt') === 0) {
        file_put_contents('current_user.txt', json_encode([
            'user_id'    => $user->id,
            'created_at' => (new DateTime('now'))->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
        ]));

        $_SESSION['user_id'] = $user->id;

        echo json_encode([
            'success' => true,
        ]);

        return;
    }

    $trace = json_decode(file_get_contents('current_user.txt'));

    // Log user in if the last authenticated user is himself/herself.
    if ((int) $trace->user_id === $user->id) {
        $trace->created_at = (new DateTime('now'))->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');

        file_put_contents('current_user.txt', json_encode($trace));

        $_SESSION['user_id'] = $user->id;

        echo json_encode([
            'success' => true,
        ]);

        return;
    }

    // Ask user if he/she wants to take over.
    echo json_encode([
        'success'  => false,
        'takeover' => true,
        'message'  => 'Another user is logged in. Do you want to take over?',
    ]);

    return;
}

?>

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport"
          content="width=device-width, user-scalable=no, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="ie=edge">
    <title>Login</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form method="post" id="form">
        <div>
            <label for="email">Email:</label>
            <input type="email" id="email" name="email" placeholder="Email" required>
        </div>
        <div>
            <label for="password">Password:</label>
            <input type="password" id="password" name="password" placeholder="Password">
        </div>
        <div>
            <span id="message" style="color: red;"></span>
        </div>
        <button>Log in</button>
    </form>
    <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script>
    <script>
        $(function () {
            $('#form').submit(function (e) {
                e.preventDefault();
                $('#message').text('');

                $.post('login.php', $(this).serialize(), function (response) {
                    const res = JSON.parse(response);

                    if (res.takeover) {
                        // Ask user if he/she wants to take over. If user confirms, run `confirmed()` function.
                        confirm(res.message) && confirmed();
                        return;
                    }

                    if (res.success) {
                        // Login is successful. Reload or redirect user to another page.
                        location.reload();
                    } else {
                        // Login failed. Incorrect email or password entered.
                        $('#message').text(res.message || '');
                    }
                });
            });

            function confirmed() {
                $.post('confirmed.php', function (response) {
                    const res = JSON.parse(response);
                    console.log(res.data);
                });
            }
        });
    </script>
</body>
</html>

4. Check if another user took over currently authenticated user in your pages (index.php in my case):

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

// Start session.
session_start();

// Include helper functions.
require_once 'helpers.php';

?>
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport"
          content="width=device-width, user-scalable=no, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="ie=edge">
    <title>Home</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php if (check_auth()): ?>
    Welcome friend.
<?php else: ?>
    <a href="/login.php">Log in</a>
<?php endif; ?>

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script>
<script>
    $(function () {
        // Check if another user took over currently authenticated user in every 3 seconds.
        setInterval(function () {
            $.post('check.php', function (response) {
                let res = JSON.parse(response);
                if (! res.auth && res.redirect) {
                    location.replace(res.redirect);
                }
            });
        }, 3000);
    });
</script>
</body>
</html>

5. Implement your check logic (check.php in my case):

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

// Start session.
session_start();

// Include helper functions.
require_once 'helpers.php';

if (! check_auth()) {
    logout();

    echo json_encode([
        'auth'     => false,
        'redirect' => 'login.php',
    ]);

    return;
}

echo json_encode([
    'auth' => true,
]);

6. Finally, create your action/function for the case when user confirms to take over (confirmed.php in my case):

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

// Start session.
session_start();

// Include helper functions.
require_once 'helpers.php';

/**
 * Run your action here if user confirms to take over another user.
 */
echo json_encode([
    'data' => 'User confirmed to take over another user.',
]);

Tested and works fine. But you should customize it for your needs.