linking cookies to mysql

Anon

not wanting to sound thick??

i have to set a cookie to recognise a user when they return.
is it possible to store the values they enter into a customer table?
if this is possible then could you send me in the right direction please.

thanks

Richard

Anon

I am not sure I understand exactly what you are trying to do.

Once you set a value in a cookie, the next visit you can retrieve the values by using $CookieVarName or by using $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS["CookieVarName"] and then put that data into your database just as you would any other data.

I am not sure if that is what you mean though. A more typical use might be to have the user provide some data. You store that data in your table normally. Then you also create and store along with their information some unique identifier that you also put into a cookie. That way when they return you retrieve this unique identifier from their cookie and that allows you to pull up their record with all of the other information.

If that doesnt answer your question, please tell us specifically what part you need to know.

Hope that helps,
Richard

Anon

Yes Richard,
thinking about it i think that you're right. a better way to solve my problem would be to get the user to input some details and insert those into my db table.
then link the cookie.
when you say refer to it with a unique identifier, do you mean anything from their info that is unique ie user nickname?

i've been reading everything i can get my hands on these last 5 hours but i'm getting more confused, so your help is very appreciated.

regards

Richard

rbenfield

yes, depending on how you setup your user table you would want to either use something unique that your table structure enforces to be unique, like their username or a userid.

If you are pretty new to this and are starting from scratch, it might help you to look at a sample script. For example this one:

http://www.phpbuilder.com/snippet/download.php?type=snippet&id=5

That one (while it may not serve all of your needs) should get you on the right track and help you get something up and running.

Hope that helps,
Richard