How to use cookies from a component? - joomla

Question

How can I use cookies in a Joomla component?
setcookie( JUtility::getHash('JLOGIN_REMEMBER'), false, time() - 86400, '/' );
Can anybody describe how this works?

Answer 1

// Get input cookie object
$inputCookie = JFactory::getApplication()->input->cookie;
// Get cookie data
$value = $inputCookie->get($name = 'myCookie', $defaultValue = null);
// Check that cookie exists
$cookieExists = ($value !== null);
// Set cookie data
$inputCookie->set($name = 'myCookie', $value = '123', $expire = 0);
// Remove cookie
$inputCookie->set('myCookie', null, time() - 1);
Some rules about $expire value
its a Unix tinestamp in seconds, like return value of time().
$expire == 0: cookie lifetime is of browser session.
$expire < time(): cookie is being deleted (expire set to past).
You could remove cookie by setting it's value to null, but apparently IE fails to do so.
Notes
Keep in mind that cookies should be set before headers are sent (usually before output is echoed).
Cookie key and value should be properly escaped
Non-string values
When serializing the value on set (like json_encode($dataNode)), remember to use proper filter to retrieve it later on. Default is cmd, which filters out pretty much anything but a-Z, 0-9 and cracks JSON structure.
// Get cookie data
$encodedString = $inputCookie->get('myCookie', null, $filter = 'string');
// Decode
$values = json_decode($encodedString);
// Encode and Set
$inputCookie->set('myCookie', json_encode($values));
Rererences
Joomla CMS github repository: JInputCookie::set (very well documented)
php docs: php.net/setcookie (developer experiences)
Wikipedia: HTTP Cookies (theory)