repo_zf1/documentation/manual/en/module_specs/Zend_Http_Cookie-Handling.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<sect1 id="zend.http.cookies">
    <title>Zend_Http_Cookie and Zend_Http_CookieJar</title>

    <sect2 id="zend.http.cookies.introduction">
        <title>Introduction</title>
        <para>
            <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname>, as expected, is a class that represents an <acronym>HTTP</acronym>
            cookie. It provides methods for parsing <acronym>HTTP</acronym> response strings,
            collecting cookies, and easily accessing their properties. It also
            allows checking if a cookie matches against a specific scenario, IE
            a request <acronym>URL</acronym>, expiration time, secure connection, etc.
        </para>
        <para>
            <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar</classname> is an object usually used by <classname>Zend_Http_Client</classname> to
            hold a set of <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname> objects. The idea is that if a
            <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar</classname> object is attached to a <classname>Zend_Http_Client</classname> object,
            all cookies going from and into the client through <acronym>HTTP</acronym> requests and
            responses will be stored by the CookieJar object. Then, when the client
            will send another request, it will first ask the CookieJar object for
            all cookies matching the request. These will be added to the request
            headers automatically. This is highly useful in cases where you need to
            maintain a user session over consecutive <acronym>HTTP</acronym> requests, automatically
            sending the session ID cookies when required. Additionally, the
            <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar</classname> object can be serialized and stored in $_SESSION
            when needed.
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.http.cookies.cookie.instantiating">
        <title>Instantiating Zend_Http_Cookie Objects</title>
        <para>
            Instantiating a Cookie object can be done in two ways:
            <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    Through the constructor, using the following syntax:
                    <code>new <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname>(string $name, string $value, string $domain, [int $expires, [string $path, [boolean $secure]]]);</code>
                    </para>
                    <itemizedlist>
                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                            <varname>$name</varname>: The name of the cookie (eg. 'PHPSESSID') (required)
                            </para>
                        </listitem>
                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                            <varname>$value</varname>: The value of the cookie (required)
                            </para>
                        </listitem>
                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                            <varname>$domain</varname>: The cookie's domain (eg. '.example.com') (required)
                            </para>
                        </listitem>

                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                                <varname>$expires</varname>: Cookie expiration time, as UNIX time
                                stamp (optional, defaults to <constant>NULL</constant>). If not set,
                                cookie will be treated as a 'session cookie' with no expiration
                                time.
                            </para>
                        </listitem>

                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                            <varname>$path</varname>: Cookie path, eg. '/foo/bar/' (optional, defaults to '/')
                            </para>
                        </listitem>

                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                                <varname>$secure</varname>: Boolean, Whether the cookie is to be
                                sent over secure (HTTPS) connections only (optional, defaults to
                                boolean <constant>FALSE</constant>)
                            </para>
                        </listitem>
                    </itemizedlist>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    By calling the fromString() static method, with a cookie string as represented in the
                    'Set-Cookie' <acronym>HTTP</acronym> response header or 'Cookie' <acronym>HTTP</acronym> request header. In this case, the
                    cookie value must already be encoded. When the cookie string does not contain a 'domain'
                    part, you must provide a reference <acronym>URI</acronym> according to which the cookie's domain and path
                    will be set.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
            <example id="zend.http.cookies.cookie.instantiating.example-1">
               <title>Instantiating a Zend_Http_Cookie object</title>
               <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
// First, using the constructor. This cookie will expire in 2 hours
$cookie = new Zend_Http_Cookie('foo',
                               'bar',
                               '.example.com',
                               time() + 7200,
                               '/path');

// You can also take the HTTP response Set-Cookie header and use it.
// This cookie is similar to the previous one, only it will not expire, and
// will only be sent over secure connections
$cookie = Zend_Http_Cookie::fromString('foo=bar; domain=.example.com; ' .
                                       'path=/path; secure');

// If the cookie's domain is not set, you have to manually specify it
$cookie = Zend_Http_Cookie::fromString('foo=bar; secure;',
                                       'http://www.example.com/path');
]]></programlisting>
            </example>
            <note>
                <para>
                When instantiating a cookie object using the <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname>::fromString() method, the
                cookie value is expected to be <acronym>URL</acronym> encoded, as cookie strings should be. However, when
                using the constructor, the cookie value string is expected to be the real, decoded value.
                </para>
            </note>
        </para>
        <para>
            A cookie object can be transferred back into a string, using the __toString() magic method.
            This method will produce a HTTP request "Cookie" header string, showing the cookie's name
            and value, and terminated by a semicolon (';').
            The value will be URL encoded, as expected in a Cookie header:
            <example id="zend.http.cookies.cookie.instantiating.example-2">
               <title>Stringifying a Zend_Http_Cookie object</title>
               <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
// Create a new cookie
$cookie = new Zend_Http_Cookie('foo',
                               'two words',
                               '.example.com',
                               time() + 7200,
                               '/path');

// Will print out 'foo=two+words;' :
echo $cookie->__toString();

// This is actually the same:
echo (string) $cookie;

// In PHP 5.2 and higher, this also works:
echo $cookie;
]]></programlisting>
            </example>
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.http.cookies.cookie.accessors">
        <title>Zend_Http_Cookie getter methods</title>
        <para>
            Once a <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname> object is instantiated, it provides several getter methods to get
            the different properties of the <acronym>HTTP</acronym> cookie:
            <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <code>string getName()</code>: Get the name of the cookie
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <code>string getValue()</code>: Get the real, decoded value of the cookie
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <code>string getDomain()</code>: Get the cookie's domain
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <code>string getPath()</code>: Get the cookie's path, which defaults to '/'
                    </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                    <para>
                        <code>int getExpiryTime()</code>: Get the cookie's expiration time, as UNIX
                        time stamp. If the cookie has no expiration time set, will return
                        <constant>NULL</constant>.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
            Additionally, several boolean tester methods are provided:
            <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                        <code>boolean isSecure()</code>: Check whether the cookie is set to be sent
                        over secure connections only. Generally speaking, if
                        <constant>TRUE</constant> the cookie should only be sent over
                        <acronym>HTTPS</acronym>.
                    </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                    <para>
                        <code>boolean isExpired(int $time = null)</code>: Check whether the cookie
                        is expired or not. If the cookie has no expiration time, will always return
                        <constant>TRUE</constant>. If $time is provided, it will override the
                        current time stamp as the time to check the cookie against.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <code>boolean isSessionCookie()</code>: Check whether the cookie is a "session cookie" - that
                    is a cookie with no expiration time, which is meant to expire when the session ends.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
            <example id="zend.http.cookies.cookie.accessors.example-1">
                <title>Using getter methods with Zend_Http_Cookie</title>
                <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
// First, create the cookie
$cookie =
    Zend_Http_Cookie::fromString('foo=two+words; ' +
                                 'domain=.example.com; ' +
                                 'path=/somedir; ' +
                                 'secure; ' +
                                 'expires=Wednesday, 28-Feb-05 20:41:22 UTC');

echo $cookie->getName();   // Will echo 'foo'
echo $cookie->getValue();  // will echo 'two words'
echo $cookie->getDomain(); // Will echo '.example.com'
echo $cookie->getPath();   // Will echo '/'

echo date('Y-m-d', $cookie->getExpiryTime());
// Will echo '2005-02-28'

echo ($cookie->isExpired() ? 'Yes' : 'No');
// Will echo 'Yes'

echo ($cookie->isExpired(strtotime('2005-01-01') ? 'Yes' : 'No');
// Will echo 'No'

echo ($cookie->isSessionCookie() ? 'Yes' : 'No');
// Will echo 'No'
]]></programlisting>
            </example>
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.http.cookies.cookie.matching">
        <title>Zend_Http_Cookie: Matching against a scenario</title>
        <para>
            The only real logic contained in a <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname> object, is in the match() method.
            This method is used to test a cookie against a given <acronym>HTTP</acronym> request scenario, in order
            to tell whether the cookie should be sent in this request or not. The method has
            the following syntax and parameters:
            <code>boolean Zend_Http_Cookie->match(mixed $uri, [boolean $matchSessionCookies, [int $now]]);</code>
            <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <code>mixed $uri</code>: A <classname>Zend_Uri_Http</classname> object with a domain name and path to be checked.
                    Optionally, a string representing a valid <acronym>HTTP</acronym> <acronym>URL</acronym> can be passed instead. The cookie will
                    match if the <acronym>URL</acronym>'s scheme (HTTP or <acronym>HTTPS</acronym>), domain and path all match.
                    </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                    <para>
                        <code>boolean $matchSessionCookies</code>: Whether session cookies should be
                        matched or not. Defaults to <constant>TRUE</constant>. If set to
                        <constant>FALSE</constant>, cookies with no expiration time will never
                        match.
                    </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <code>int $now</code>: Time (represented as UNIX time stamp) to check a cookie against
                    for expiration. If not specified, will default to the current time.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
            <example id="zend.http.cookies.cookie.matching.example-1">
                <title>Matching cookies</title>
                <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
// Create the cookie object - first, a secure session cookie
$cookie = Zend_Http_Cookie::fromString('foo=two+words; ' +
                                       'domain=.example.com; ' +
                                       'path=/somedir; ' +
                                       'secure;');

$cookie->match('https://www.example.com/somedir/foo.php');
// Will return true

$cookie->match('http://www.example.com/somedir/foo.php');
// Will return false, because the connection is not secure

$cookie->match('https://otherexample.com/somedir/foo.php');
// Will return false, because the domain is wrong

$cookie->match('https://example.com/foo.php');
// Will return false, because the path is wrong

$cookie->match('https://www.example.com/somedir/foo.php', false);
// Will return false, because session cookies are not matched

$cookie->match('https://sub.domain.example.com/somedir/otherdir/foo.php');
// Will return true

// Create another cookie object - now, not secure, with expiration time
// in two hours
$cookie = Zend_Http_Cookie::fromString('foo=two+words; ' +
                                       'domain=www.example.com; ' +
                                       'expires='
                                       . date(DATE_COOKIE, time() + 7200));

$cookie->match('http://www.example.com/');
// Will return true

$cookie->match('https://www.example.com/');
// Will return true - non secure cookies can go over secure connections
// as well!

$cookie->match('http://subdomain.example.com/');
// Will return false, because the domain is wrong

$cookie->match('http://www.example.com/', true, time() + (3 * 3600));
// Will return false, because we added a time offset of +3 hours to
// current time
]]></programlisting>
            </example>
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.http.cookies.cookiejar">
        <title>The Zend_Http_CookieJar Class: Instantiation</title>
        <para>
            In most cases, there is no need to directly instantiate a
            <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar</classname> object. If you want to attach a new cookie jar
            to your <classname>Zend_Http_Client</classname> object, just call the
            Zend_Http_Client->setCookieJar() method, and a new, empty cookie jar
            will be attached to your client. You could later get this cookie jar
            using Zend_Http_Client->getCookieJar().
        </para>
        <para>
            If you still wish to manually instantiate a CookieJar object, you
            can do so by calling "new Zend_Http_CookieJar()" directly - the
            constructor method does not take any parameters. Another way to
            instantiate a CookieJar object is to use the static Zend_Http_CookieJar::fromResponse()
            method. This method takes two parameters: a <classname>Zend_Http_Response</classname> object,
            and a reference <acronym>URI</acronym>, as either a string or a <classname>Zend_Uri_Http</classname> object.
            This method will return a new <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar</classname> object, already
            containing the cookies set by the passed <acronym>HTTP</acronym> response. The reference
            <acronym>URI</acronym> will be used to set the cookie's domain and path, if they are
            not defined in the Set-Cookie headers.
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.http.cookies.cookiejar.adding_cookies">
        <title>Adding Cookies to a Zend_Http_CookieJar object</title>
        <para>
            Usually, the <classname>Zend_Http_Client</classname> object you attached your CookieJar object
            to will automatically add cookies set by <acronym>HTTP</acronym> responses to your jar. If
            you wish to manually add cookies to your jar, this can be done by using
            two methods:
            <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar->addCookie($cookie[, $ref_uri])</classname>: Add a
                    single cookie to the jar. $cookie can be either a <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname>
                    object or a string, which will be converted automatically into a
                    Cookie object. If a string is provided, you should also provide
                    $ref_uri - which is a reference <acronym>URI</acronym> either as a string or
                    <classname>Zend_Uri_Http</classname> object, to use as the cookie's default domain and path.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar->addCookiesFromResponse($response, $ref_uri)</classname>:
                    Add all cookies set in a single <acronym>HTTP</acronym> response to the jar. $response is
                    expected to be a <classname>Zend_Http_Response</classname> object with Set-Cookie headers. $ref_uri
                    is the request <acronym>URI</acronym>, either as a string or a <classname>Zend_Uri_Http</classname> object, according
                    to which the cookies' default domain and path will be set.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.http.cookies.cookiejar.getting_cookies">
        <title>Retrieving Cookies From a Zend_Http_CookieJar object</title>
        <para>
            Just like with adding cookies, there is usually no need to manually
            fetch cookies from a CookieJar object. Your <classname>Zend_Http_Client</classname> object
            will automatically fetch the cookies required for an <acronym>HTTP</acronym> request
            for you. However, you can still use 3 provided methods to fetch
            cookies from the jar object: <methodname>getCookie()</methodname>,
            <methodname>getAllCookies()</methodname>, and <methodname>getMatchingCookies()</methodname>.
            Additionnaly, iterating over the CookieJar will let you
            retrieve all the <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname> objects from it.
        </para>
        <para>
            It is important to note that each one of these methods takes a
            special parameter, which sets the return type of the method. This
            parameter can have 3 values:
            <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <constant>Zend_Http_CookieJar::COOKIE_OBJECT</constant>: Return
                    a <classname>Zend_Http_Cookie</classname> object. If the method returns more than
                    one cookie, an array of objects will be returned.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <constant>Zend_Http_CookieJar::COOKIE_STRING_ARRAY</constant>: Return
                    cookies as strings, in a "foo=bar" format, suitable for sending
                    in a <acronym>HTTP</acronym> request "Cookie" header. If more than one cookie is
                    returned, an array of strings is returned.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <constant>Zend_Http_CookieJar::COOKIE_STRING_CONCAT</constant>: Similar to
                    COOKIE_STRING_ARRAY, but if more than one cookie is returned, this
                    method will concatenate all cookies into a single, long string
                    separated by semicolons (;), and return it. This is especially useful
                    if you want to directly send all matching cookies in a single <acronym>HTTP</acronym>
                    request "Cookie" header.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
            The structure of the different cookie-fetching methods is described below:
            <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar->getCookie($uri, $cookie_name[, $ret_as])</classname>:
                    Get a single cookie from the jar, according to its <acronym>URI</acronym> (domain and path)
                    and name. $uri is either a string or a <classname>Zend_Uri_Http</classname> object representing the
                    <acronym>URI</acronym>. $cookie_name is a string identifying the cookie name. $ret_as
                    specifies the return type as described above. $ret_type is optional, and
                    defaults to COOKIE_OBJECT.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar->getAllCookies($ret_as)</classname>: Get all
                    cookies from the jar. $ret_as specifies the return type as described
                    above. If not specified, $ret_type defaults to COOKIE_OBJECT.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                    <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Http_CookieJar->getMatchingCookies($uri[, $matchSessionCookies[, $ret_as[, $now]]])</classname>:
                    Get all cookies from the jar that match a specified scenario, that is a <acronym>URI</acronym> and expiration time.
                    <itemizedlist>
                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                            <varname>$uri</varname> is either a <classname>Zend_Uri_Http</classname> object or a string specifying the
                            connection type (secure or non-secure), domain and path to match against.
                            </para>
                        </listitem>

                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                                <varname>$matchSessionCookies</varname> is a boolean telling whether
                                to match session cookies or not. Session cookies are cookies that
                                have no specified expiration time. Defaults to
                                <constant>TRUE</constant>.
                            </para>
                        </listitem>

                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                            <varname>$ret_as</varname> specifies the return type as described above. If not
                            specified, defaults to COOKIE_OBJECT.
                            </para>
                        </listitem>
                        <listitem>
                            <para>
                            <varname>$now</varname> is an integer representing the UNIX time stamp to consider
                            as "now" - that is any cookies who are set to expire before this time will
                            not be matched. If not specified, defaults to the current time.
                            </para>
                        </listitem>
                    </itemizedlist>
                    You can read more about cookie matching here:
                    <xref linkend="zend.http.cookies.cookie.matching" />.
                    </para>
                </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
        </para>
    </sect2>

</sect1>
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