what's a cookie? (1 Viewer)

the_net_2.0

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guys and gals,

do cookies that are invoked act the same way when they come from different languages?

If I set a cookie with PHP, will it automatically throw a txt into the browser's temp folder on my machine with an md5 hash stored in it?

moreover, how does it operate? does it serve as a password encryption that can be looked at from a server side script? how do these thing work on an inner level??

anybody dare to answer? :D
 

Habikazensis

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Cookies are secret (the honest sites like to tell us about them, but) very few Web sites from your computer hard drive placed on the files you have visited. Well, most of them gentle enough for a variety of purposes can be used.
 

jack9

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A cookie is also know as a browser cookie, is used for website to send information to a user's browser and for the browser to return the information to the site. The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user's preferences, or anything that can be store text data.
 

bparker1084

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Cookies are usually small text files, given ID tags that are stored on your computer's browser directory or program data sub folders.
 

frank00

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As you know cookies are a client based language.. In which when that client use that web then the cookies stored in his computer somewhere in temp file whose location client is unable to know..
 

Simon_MT

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Cookie can be used for such things as Session Variables.

Here is an example I will dispense with the web address:

Originals.aspx?Artist=Smith&ArtistPage=10

Session("Artist") = Smith
Session(ArtistPage) = 10

If a visitor goes somewhere else on the web site and wants to go back to the Originals Page because we use Session Variables stored as Cookies we can direct the vistor to the Artist and Page 10. So instead of having to trawl from Pages 1-10, the visitor can be directed to page last visited.

Simon
 

smithdavid

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A cookie is just one or more pieces of information stored as text strings on your machine. A Web server sends you a cookie and the browser stores it. The browser then returns the cookie to the server the next time the page is referenced.
 

kathyjohnson

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Hello,
Cookies are regularly small text files, given ID tags that are stored on your computer's browser directory or program data subfolders. Cookies are created when you use your browser to visit a website that uses cookies to keep track of your movements within the site, help you resume where you left off, remember your registered login, theme selection, preferences, and other customization functions.The website stores a corresponding file(with same ID tag)to the one they set in your browser and in this file they can track and keep information on your movements within the site and any information you may have voluntarily given while visiting the website, such as email address.
 

MarkK

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Hello:
A cookie is a small, commonly round, baked treat. Sometimes cookies are made by a pastry chef, and cookies can also be purchased in bags from the store, but mostly cookies are made by people in their houses for their own enjoyment and personal consumption. Cookies are, by definition, baked, so for instance if you find yourself frying something in a pan, maybe it's a pancake. If you find yourself boiling something in a pot, maybe it's an egg. If you are baking something, maybe it's a cookie, but it could also be a pie.

hth
 

Simon_MT

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Hi lagbolt,

Do cookies remember what you ate last time so that you don't mistakenly end up to the pie section?

Simon
 

MarkK

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Lol, you found my cookie rant. I totally forgot about it.

But in answer to your question, yes, cookies have long memories and they hate pies, and if the last thing you ate was a pie, cookies will treat you with suspicion. Cookies are bastards that way, but really they're just insecure. They're jealous of pies.

It's the filling.
 

Quaeldorn

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Another cookie rant, but...

Cookies are used to remember 'things'. This is two fold and the second one I hate with a passion!!!

First the main purpose. They remember things like login IDs and shopping carts.
Imagine logging in to this forum them when you click on a post you want to read, the forum forgets you're logged in - how would you get anything done? Shopping carts; same thing - as you add items to the cart then proceed to their page to complete the transaction, it forgets what is in your cart.

Second, they allow tracking of their customers browsing, which pages they clicked and products they looked at. I dont mind people doing it to improve website services but there is potential for them to use it for targeted marketing and show you ads, or even send email, based on that click.

Also, they arent just website specific. The famous one is a cookie doubleclick (owned by google, but there are lots of others). Lets say I open a new online shop selling... garden sheds. Google pays me a small amount for me to have their doubleclick cookie track my visitors. So now google knows they're thinking about buying a shed and stores that little nugget of info on their computer. Now, facebook might use doubleclick too, so it will display ads on that persons News Feed about... you guessed it, garden sheds. How did it know ?!?!?!

The final pain-in-the-ass double-edged sword of cookies. Lets say you visit a site, the website says "oh, no cookie exists, lets show an ad pop-up" and then tries to save a cookie. If you accept the cookie, the pop-up might only show once every 5 visits (but then track your marketing preferences) but if you deny it, it will think you're a brand new visitor and show you the pop-up every single goddam time!!

I never ever use the B&Q or Homebase websites. They have lost an customer with me (unless I *know* they have what I want or I'm physically passing the store anyway). Their website has such a cookie policy that they INSIST on tracking what you view, so much that every page on their website redirects to an error page if you deny the cookie. Its just not required to browse a website, Im not going to buy online and have a shopping cart, nor am I going to log in, so they dont NEED to place a cookie. They just desperately want to track my browsing... to improve their site or sell my marketing footprint?? The world as it is, I dont like the idea of having a cyber-profile and having all my preferences and browsing tracked just so someone can give me what IT thinks is stuff im interested in (cos after I've bought my shed, I dont want to keep seeing ads for them!!).
 

Zelna

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Cookie is a tiny file which is stored on your browser. It tells the server about your last visit so that the server can process your requests accordingly and you save some time.
 

Hoffman

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Funny, I get notifications on websites every single day about cookies and I just click accept, never even stopped to think what a cookie actually is! Interesting.
 

SimplySarah

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Hello:
A cookie is a small, commonly round, baked treat. Sometimes cookies are made by a pastry chef, and cookies can also be purchased in bags from the store, but mostly cookies are made by people in their houses for their own enjoyment and personal consumption. Cookies are, by definition, baked, so for instance if you find yourself frying something in a pan, maybe it's a pancake. If you find yourself boiling something in a pot, maybe it's an egg. If you are baking something, maybe it's a cookie, but it could also be a pie.

hth

LOL I totally would have written something similar. I know this is a ridiculously old post, but it was great. Really made me laugh.
 

kevlray

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When I want to do some online shopping, but do not want to be bugged forever about things I may have looked at (travel locations to computer parts). I open up a private browser window. That way the cookies go bye-bye went I close the browser.
 

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