Using Cookies with PHP

A cookie is set with the following code:setcookie(name, value, expiration)

 <?php 
 $Month = 2592000 + time(); 
 //this adds 30 days to the current time 
 setcookie(AboutVisit, date("F jS - g:i a"), $Month);
 ?> 

 The above code sets a cookie in the visitor's browser called "AboutVisit". The cookie sets the value to the current date, and set's the expiration to be be in 30 days (2592000 = 60 seconds * 60 mins * 24 hours * 30 days.)

Now let's retrieve the cookie.

<?php
 if(isset($_COOKIE['AboutVisit'])) {
 $last = $_COOKIE['AboutVisit'];
 echo "Welcome back! <br> You last visited on ". $last;
 } else { 
 echo "Welcome to our site!"; 
 } 
 ?> 

This code first checks if the cookie exists. If it does, it welcomes the user back and tells them when they last visited. If they are new, it skips this and prints a generic welcome message.

TIP: If you are calling a cooking on the same page you plan to set one - be sure you retrieve it first, before you overwrite it!

To destroy the cookie, simply use setcookie again, only set the expiration date to be in the past. This is often done when you 'logout' of a site. Here is an example:

<?php 
 $past = time() - 10; //this makes the time 10 seconds ago 
 setcookie(AboutVisit, date("F jS - g:i a"), $past);
 ?> 



Tags : Php Cookie, set cookie, Cookies