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Return information about the specified cookie.
Syntax
object.GetCookie( CookieName,
CookieValue, [CookiePath], [CookieDomain],
[CookieExpires], [CookieFlags] )
Parameters
- CookieName
- A string which specifies the name of the cookie to return
information about. To obtain a list of cookies which have been set
by the server, use the CookieCount and CookieName
properties.
- CookieValue
- A string which will contain the value of the cookie when the
method returns. This parameter must be passed by reference.
- CookiePath
- An optional string argument which will contain the cookie path
when the method returns. This specifies a path for the
resources where the cookie should be used. For example, a path of
"/" indicates that the cookie should be provided for all
resources requested from the server. A path of "/data"
would mean that the cookie should be included if the resource is
found in the /data folder or a sub-folder, such as
/data/projections.asp. However, the cookie would not be provided if
the resource /info/status.asp was requested, since it is not in the
/data path. The cookie should only be sent to the server if the
resource being requested is located in the directory or subdirectory
of this path. This parameter must be passed by reference. If
this information is not required, the argument can be omitted.
- CookieDomain
- An optional string argument which will contain the domain that
the cookie is valid for. Matches are made by comparing the name of
the server against the domain name specified in the cookie. If
the domain is example.com, then any server in the example.com domain
would match; for example, both shipping.example.com and
orders.example.com would match the domain value. However, if the
cookie domain was orders.example.com, then the cookie would only be
sent if the resource was requested from orders.example.com, not if
the resource was located on shipping.example.com or www.example.com.
This parameter must be passed by reference. If this information is
not required, the argument can be omitted.
- CookieExpires
- An optional date value which specifies when the cookie expires
and should no longer be sent to the server when requesting a
resource in the path specified by the CookiePath value. This
is only valid for persistent cookies, since session cookies are
automatically deleted when the client application terminates. The
time is always expressed as Coordinated Universal Time. This
parameter must be passed by reference. If this information is not
required, the argument can be omitted.
- CookieFlags
- An optional integer value which provides status information
about the cookie. A value of zero indicates that there are no
special status flags for the cookie. This parameter must be passed
by reference. This argument may be omitted
if the information is not required. The following values are
currently defined:
| Value |
Description |
| httpCookieSecure |
This flag specifies that the cookie should only be provided
to the server if the connection is secure. |
| httpCookieSession |
This flag specifies that the cookie should only be used for
the current application session and should not be stored
permanently on the local system. |
Return Value
This method returns a boolean value. A value of true is returned
if the cookie name is valid. Otherwise, a value of false is returned,
which indicates that a cookie with that name does not exist.
Remarks
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol uses special tokens called
"cookies" to maintain persistent state information between
requests for a resource. These cookies are exchanged between the
client and server by setting specific header fields. When a server
wants the client to use a cookie, it will include a header field
named Set-Cookie in the response header when the client requests a
resource. The client can then take this cookie and store it, either
temporarily in memory or permanently in a file on the local system.
The next time that the client requests a resource from that server,
it can send the cookie back to the server by setting the Cookie
header field. The GetCookie method searches for a cookie set
by the server in the Set-Cookie header field. The SetCookie
method creates or modifies the Cookie header field for the next
resource requested by the client.
There are two general types of cookies that are used by servers.
Session cookies exist only for the duration of the client session;
they are stored in memory and not saved in any kind of permanent
storage. When the client application terminates, session cookies are
deleted and no longer used. Persistent cookies are stored on the local
system and are used by the client until their expiration time.
It is the responsibility of the client application to store
persistent cookies and determine if
a cookie meets the criteria required to be submitted to the server.
If the application wishes to send the cookie, it can use the
SetCookie method and specify the cookie name and value.
See Also
CookieCount Property,
CookieName Property,
CookieValue Property,
ClearHeaders Method,
SetCookie Method
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