Setting and Checking Variables

I have a page where it shows a user's information. I want to know how to set a veriable in a file, then be able to check that variable by entering a username and it finding the variable associated with that name. How would I do this without a database?

Where is the user information, the stuff this page you have shows, kept if not in a database?

I have it in a file named userlist.inc.php but I was wondering if I could save it to a different php page because the way the page saves is fairly strict[google]lol[/GOOGLE]

Somewhere in userlist.inc.php there must be the username. Search through the array or whatever you have in there until you find the right data.

Speaking of, what do you have in that file? Big array? Multiple variables (God forbid)?

Please, please tell me this file is outside of your web directory. And why not use a database like the rest of the php world.

But first just tell me that it isnt inside your web dirrectory!!