PHP Cookies
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is often used to identify a user. A cookie is a small file that the server embeds on the user’s computer. Each time the same computer requests a page with a browser, it will send the cookie too. With PHP, you can both create and retrieve cookie values.
How to Create a Cookie?
The setcookie() function is used to set a cookie.
Note: The setcookie() function must appear BEFORE the <html> tag.
setcookie(name, value, expire, path, domain);
Example
In the example below, we will create a cookie named “user” and assign the value “Alex Porter” to it. We also specify that the cookie should expire after one hour:
<?php
setcookie(”user”, “Alex Porter”, time()+3600);
?>
<html>
<body>
</body>
</html>
How to Retrieve a Cookie Value?
The PHP $_COOKIE variable is used to retrieve a cookie value.
In the example below, we retrieve the value of the cookie named “user” and display it on a page:
<?php
// Print a cookie
echo $_COOKIE[”user”];
// A way to view all cookies
print_r($_COOKIE);
?>
In the following example we use the isset() function to find out if a cookie has been set:
<html>
<body><?php
if (isset($_COOKIE[”user”]))
echo “Welcome ” . $_COOKIE[”user”] . “!<br />”;
else
echo “Welcome guest!<br />”;
?></body>
</html>
How to Delete a Cookie?
When deleting a cookie you should assure that the expiration date is in the past.
Delete example:
<?php
// set the expiration date to one hour ago
setcookie(”user”, “”, time()-3600);
?>
Related post :
August 7th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
anybody here know of a good site to find more info on php script variable? I\’ve got this site bookmarked and im gonna keep checking it out, but i still would like to find a site that covers php script variable a little more thoroughly..thanks
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