My darn cookies

[Xerpher]

Well for some reason my cookies never get set... I'm on IE 6.0 ona UNIX server and here's the code I've tried.

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setcookie ("CPOST[username]", $POST_username);

setcookie ("CPOST[username]", $POST_username, time() + 60*60*24*365);

setcookie ("CPOST[username]", $POST_username, time() + 60*60*24*365, '', '');

setcookie ("CPOST['username']", $POST_username);

setcookie ("CPOST['username']", $POST_username, time() + 60*60*24*365);

setcookie ("CPOST['username']", $POST_username, time() + 60*60*24*365, '', '');

Anyone got any ideas?

[DoppyNL]

If you're setting the cookie with a username you posted from a form you will have to use:

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$_POST['username']

Also, make sure that the browser accepts the cookie!

Greetz Daan

[Jay]

Another suggestion. Perform the 60*60*24*365 calculation ONCE, and insert that value into the cookie function. It'll save time so PHP doesn't have to keep working out the same thing again and again. The time saved is negligable, but it's also good coding practise and provides you with one place to change the value should you want to.

[Xerpher]

Well I can't use $_POST because my host disabled it, and I'm only setting one cookie, I just showed all those lines because those are all the different ways I tried to get it to work, but it never did... When I tell the page to print the cookie ( which I think should be $CPOST['username'] ) it returns an empty variable.

[DoppyNL]

I think you cannot use $_POST because you're host doesn't allow the post-method?!?

anyway, setting a cookie works as follows:

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setcookie('cookiename','cookievalue');

and ofcourse you can replace those strings with a variable.
see the manual for a full discription of setcookie.

also, cookies will turn up in $_COOKIE (in PHP4.1.0 and earlier $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS)

Greetz Daan

[Jay]

How did your host manage to disable, and why?

Anyway, you can use the direct reference ($var) or $HTT_POST_VARS['var']! Try those to see what works

[DoppyNL]

How did your host manage to disable, and why?

You can configure Apache to not accept posted data. PHP can do nothing about that.
Also, My host didn't disable that, possibly Xerpher's host did.
Why they do it? I don't know, I can't think of a good reason.

Greetz Daan

[Xerpher]

Ok, well I've been trying a bunch of stuff and this is the line I'm using to set the cookie:

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setcookie ("CPOST[username]", $POST_username, time() + 60*60*24*365);

Now I know its setting a cookie because my browser asks me if I will allow it. And the variable $POST_username isn't empty, I'm getting it to show itself right after the cookie is set so I know that variable isn't empty. I even tried this code:

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setcookie ("CPOST", $POST_username, time() + 60*60*24*365);

But still, $CPOST is empty... :cry:

[Xerpher]

Something is definitely messed up here. I took the example from php.net

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$value = "WOOHOO";
setcookie ("TestCookie", $value, time()+3600);
echo "->".$TestCookie;
echo "->".$_COOKIE["TestCookie"];
echo "->".$HTTP_POST_VARS['TestCookie'];

and all I got on the page was

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->->

I know for sure the cookie is being set. So either the cookie is being set with an empty value or I just can't retrieve cookies.

[DoppyNL]

Cookies that you set on page 1 will not appear on page 1.
they will appear for the first time on page 2!!!!

from php.net:

Common Pitfalls:

Cookies will not become visible until the next loading of a page that the cookie should be visible for. To test if a cookie was successfully set, check for the cookie on a next loading page before the cookie expires. Expire time is set via the expire parameter.

Greetz Daan

[Xerpher]

Wow, that was weird, I had setup a whole isset thing to watch out for that "pitfall" but I guess I still fell in

THANK YOU!

[Jay]

Also, My host didn't disable that, possibly Xerpher's host did.

I was replying to Xerpher ;). If the host won't accept POST data, change the form to $_GET. They MUST accept that if they're using PHP (otherwise why bother having a dynamic setup?).
Also, add the fourth element as '/', so your cookie code looks like setcookie ("TestCookie", $value, time()+3600,'/'); When I was having problems with my site I did that and it worked.

[Xerpher]

ACK! X_X I SPOKE TOO SOON!

Tell me whats wrong with this...

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    function login()
   {
      global $POST_username, $POST_password, $UserInfo, $DB;

      if (isset($POST_username) && empty($cookie))
      {
         $DB->query("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username='".$POST_username."'", "CurrentUser");
         $UserInfo = $DB->fetch_row("CurrentUser");
    
         setcookie ("cookie[username]", "X".$POST_username, time()+3600, '/');
         setcookie ("cookie[password]", "Y".$POST_password, time()+3600, '/');
         
         print "<meta http-equiv=refresh content=\"0;url=index.php?page=two\">";
      }
      elseif (isset($cookie))
      {
         echo "Success";
      }
      else
      {
         $UserInfo['username'] = "Guest";
         $UserInfo['password'] = "NULL";
      }
      if (isset ($cookie)) {
         while (list ($name, $value) = each ($cookie)) {
            echo "$name == $value<br>\n";
         }
      } else { echo "dangit"; }
   }

I get cookie alerts so the first if definitely works, but at the end, I always get "dangit" no matter what. So it seems my cookie is empty.... (Which is weird because I put a letter in front of the variable to make sure it isn't empty )

[DoppyNL]

once again:

you are trying to set a cookie and read it in the same script
wich is not possible!!!
the cookie will appear in the next script you call!!!

same pittfall again... read my previous post.

as an extra note:
You login a user by setting a cookie and checking that cookie everytime.
Might be more easy by using sessions and remembering a session-variable. That way users that refuse the cookie can login normally.

Greetz Daan

[Xerpher]

...I'm speachless... I put this outside the function, and now its all working:

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   if (isset ($cookie)) { 
      while (list ($name, $value) = each ($cookie)) { 
         echo "$name == $value<br>\n"; 
      } 
   } else { echo "dangit"; }