PHP Cookies

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.

Create Cookies With PHP

A cookie is created with the setcookie() function.

Syntax :

setcookie(name, value, expire, path, domain, secure, httponly);

Only the name parameter is required. All other parameters are optional.

<?php
   $cookie_name = "user";
   $cookie_value = "John Doe";
   setcookie($cookie_name, $cookie_value, time() + (86400 * 30), "/"); // 86400 = 1 day
?>

Delete a Cookie

To delete a cookie, use the setcookie() function with an expiration date in the past:

Example :

<?php
   // set the expiration date to one hour ago
   setcookie("user", "", time() - 3600);
?>

Check if Cookies are Enabled

The following example creates a small script that checks whether cookies are enabled. First, try to create a test cookie with the setcookie() function, then count the $_COOKIE array variable:

Example

<?php
   setcookie("test_cookie", "test", time() + 3600, '/');
?>
.
.
.
<?php
   if(count($_COOKIE) > 0) {
      echo "Cookies are enabled.";
   } 
   else {
      echo "Cookies are disabled.";
   }
?>