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A cookie is a message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a small text file that the server embeds on the user's computer. Each time the same computer requests a page with a browser, the cookie is sent back to the server too.
There are a wide variety of things you can do with cookies. They are used to store information about user, visited pages, last visits and etc. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them.
When you enter a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing some information about you. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The server can use this information, for example, to display a welcome page with your name on it.
How to Create a Cookie?
In order to create a Cookie, you need to use the Response.Cookies command. In the following example we will create a cookie named "lastname" and assign the value "someValue" to it:
<%
Response.Cookies("lastname") = "Peterson"
%>
The Response.Cookies command must appear before the <html> tag otherwise you need to place at the top of your page the following line:
<% response.buffer = true %>
It is also possible to assign properties to a cookie, like setting a date when the cookie should expire. The example below creates a cookie which will expire in 30 days from now. If you want the cookie to expire as soon as your visitor leaves, you should set the Expires property with the value 1.
<%
Response.Cookies("lastname") = "Peterson"
Response.Cookies("lastname").Expires = Now + 30
%>
The next important property is the Domain property. The cookie can only be read by the domain it originated from. It is set by default to the domain in which it was created, but you can alter it for your needs. Have a look at the example:
<%
Response.Cookies("lastname").Domain = "http://www.webcheatsheet.com"
%>
Another two important properties are the Path and Secure properties. The Path property specifies the exact path on the domain that can use the cookies.
If the Security property is set then the cookies will only be set if the browser is using secure sockets or https:// to connect but it doesn't mean that the cookie is secure. It's just a text file like every other cookie.
Have a look at the examples:
<%
Response.Cookies("lastname").Path = "/cookies/"
Response.Cookies("lastname").Secure = True
%>
How to Retrieve a Cookie Value?
Now the cookie is set and we need to retrieve the information. In order to retrieve the value of the cookie, you need to use the Request.Cookies command. In the example below we retrieve the value of the cookie named "lastname" and print out its value.
<%
someValue = Request.Cookies("lastname")
response.write("The cookie value is " & someValue)
%>
The output will be "The cookie value is Peterson".
Using a Cookie Dictionary
In addition to storing simple values, a cookie in the Cookies collection can represent a cookie dictionary. A dictionary is a construct that is similar to an associative array in that each element of the array is identifiable by its name.
Basically, cookie dictionary is just a cookie that can hold several values. These values are called keys. This gives you the option of storing all your necessary info in one cookie. For example let's assume you wanted to gather the users first and last name and store them in one cookie. In the example below, we will create a cookie named "user" that will contain such information.
<%
Response.Cookies("user")("firstname") = "Andrew"
Response.Cookies("user")("lastname") = "Cooper"
%>
When you need to reference the values in the cookie with keys, you have to use the key value. Have a look at the example:
<%
Response.Write(Request.Cookies("user") ("firstname"))
Response.Write(Request.Cookies("user") ("lastname"))
%>
Now let's assume that we want to read all the cookies your server has sent to the user's computer. In order to check if one cookie has keys or not, you must use the HasKeys property of that specific cookie. The following example shows how to do it.
<%
Response.Cookies("lastname") = "Peterson"
Response.Cookies("user")("firstname") = "Andrew"
Response.Cookies("user")("lastname") = "Cooper"
%>
<%
Dim cookie
Dim cookieKey
for each cookie in Request.Cookies
if Request.Cookies(cookie).HasKeys Then
%>
The cookie dictionary <%=cookie%> has the
following values:<br />
<%
for each cookieKey in Request.Cookies(cookie)
%>
cookieKey: <%= cookieKey %><br />
Value:
<%=Request.Cookies(cookie)(cookieKey)%><br />
<%
next
else
%>
The cookie <%=cookie%> has the following value:
<%=Request.Cookies(cookie)%> <br />
<%
end if
next
%> | 
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