Cookie writing confusion

[Charly Walter]

Hello,

Please help.

I keep data in several session variables, one of which is a complex
object tied to a custom DLL I wrote. Everything seems to be running
fine until I introduced a system to remember certain data to cookies.

At some point in my application the following code is executed

WriteCookie(key, value, new Date(((new Date()).getTime() +
(365*86400000))), "/")

Almost immediately after, the session variable holding the complex
object no longer exists (vartype of object = 0). I commented out that
line in the app and the session variable continues to exist.

I am not sure how the session variable and my writing of the cookie is
inter-related. Can someone please explain to me what might be
happening, why and how I can deal with it ?

Thank you,
Charly

[kaeli]

In article <30*************************@posting.google.com> ,
wa********@aol.com enlightened us with...

At some point in my application the following code is executed

WriteCookie(key, value, new Date(((new Date()).getTime() +
(365*86400000))), "/")

Sessions often store a unique ID on the client computer as a cookie
(some use URL rewriting), which the server uses to look up data with
each request. I suspect a problem with the interaction between the
session cookie and the one you are writing.
What exactly does WriteCookie look like? Got code?
--
--
~kaeli~
A man's home is his castle..., in a manor of speaking.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

[Charly Walter]

Thank you for your reply.

I presumed as much since I do see a stub of something when I open the
cookie in a text editor.

The cookie writing code is as follows and is nothing out of the
ordinary, I think:

function WriteCookie(sName, sValue, dExpires, sPath, sDomain, bSecure) {
var sCookie;
var sError;

sCookie = sError = "";
if(sError.length == 0){
sCookie += escape(sName) + "=";
sCookie += escape(sValue);
if(dExpires)sCookie += "; expires=" + dExpires.toGMTString();
if(sPath) sCookie += "; path=" + sPath;
if(sDomain) sCookie += "; domain=" + sDomain;
if(bSecure) sCookie += "; secure=" + bSecure.toString();

document.cookie = sCookie;

if(sValue != GetCookie(sName)) sError = sError + "Write failure/n";
}
return sError;
}

Regards,
Charly


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[kaeli]

In article <40*********************@news.frii.net>, wa********@aol.com
enlightened us with...

Thank you for your reply.

I presumed as much since I do see a stub of something when I open the
cookie in a text editor.
What name are you calling it?
Have you tried calling it something else?

The cookie writing code is as follows and is nothing out of the
ordinary, I think:

function WriteCookie(sName, sValue, dExpires, sPath, sDomain, bSecure) {
var sCookie;
var sError;

sCookie = sError = "";
if(sError.length == 0){
This will always be true, since you just set it to the empty string,
above. What's the point?
sCookie += escape(sName) + "=";
sCookie += escape(sValue);
if(dExpires)sCookie += "; expires=" + dExpires.toGMTString();
Is this a copy/paste error? There may need to be a space after that
close parens.
if(sPath) sCookie += "; path=" + sPath;
if(sDomain) sCookie += "; domain=" + sDomain;
if(bSecure) sCookie += "; secure=" + bSecure.toString();

document.cookie = sCookie;

Whoops. You just wiped out the previous value of document.cookie. Bad
kitty.

document.cookie += sCookie.
That was probably your problem.

--
--
~kaeli~
Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu thinks you'd make
a nice sandwich.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

[Michael Winter]

On Mon, 19 Apr 2004 12:31:29 -0500, kaeli <ti******@NOSPAM.comcast.net>
wrote:

In article <40*********************@news.frii.net>, wa********@aol.com
enlightened us with...

[snip]

if(dExpires)sCookie += "; expires=" + dExpires.toGMTString();

Is this a copy/paste error? There may need to be a space after that
close parens.

That shouldn't matter. It would be more readable, though.

if(bSecure) sCookie += "; secure=" + bSecure.toString();

This is actually incorrect. The "secure" field is a boolean in itself. If
it is present, the cookie should be made secure. If it is absent, the
cookie can be stored unaltered. Change it to

if( bSecure ) sCookie += '; secure';

From the OP:

WriteCookie(
key,
value,
new Date(((new Date()).getTime() + (365*86400000))),
"/" );

It's probably better to take advantage of Date()'s ability to roll over
automatically:

var nextYear = new Date();
nextYear.setFullYear( nextYear.getFullYear() + 1 );

WriteCookie(
key,
value,
nextYear,
"/" );

--
Michael Winter
M.******@blueyonder.co.invalid (replace ".invalid" with ".uk" to reply)

[Charly Walter]

Thank you Kaeli and Michael !!

I was thinking of cookie arcania and my problem seemed to be application
of syntax.

Of course, your suggestions did the trick. And I did learn enough to
actually remember some.

Thanks again,
Charly

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