[RESOLVED] setcookie()

xbuilder

I have learnt that cookies have to be set in the html header. If I had a html form which collects user inputs, is it the only to set cookies for the user selections is to call setcookie() in the next page after user clicking a submit botton?

Also, I have read some online comments about cookie vs. session variables. Any suggestions on using them (do I need to use both or just one of them if sufficient)?

Thanks

dougal85

xbuilder wrote:
I have learnt that cookies have to be set in the html header. If I had a html form which collects user inputs, is it the only to set cookies for the user selections is to call setcookie() in the next page after user clicking a submit botton?

Yes, unless you do it in JavaScript or something.

xbuilder wrote:
Also, I have read some online comments about cookie vs. session variables. Any suggestions on using them (do I need to use both or just one of them if sufficient)?

It depends what you want to do. Session data lasts while the users browser is open. Ie, you log into a website, it uses session information, if you restart your browser it logs you out.

if you combine this with cookies you can provide remember me functions to websites. since cookies expire after a specified period of time.

xbuilder

Thanks for your help.

NogDog

dougal85 wrote:
...Session data lasts while the users browser is open. Ie, you log into a website, it uses session information, if you restart your browser it logs you out....

Not strictly true. The session cookie lasts until it expires. That expiration time might be when the browser is closed if the session.cookie_lifetime configuration setting is set to 0 (zero), which is the default setting, but is by no means the only setting. It can have as short or long a lifetime as any other cookie if you vary that setting globally or on a per-script basis by the [man]session_set_cookie_params[/man] function. The data stored on the host that is pointed to by that session cookie has its own lifetime, affected by the session.gc_maxlifetime setting

xbuilder

That's correct.