# Poco::Net

# class HTTPCookie

Library: Net
Package: HTTP
Header: Poco/Net/HTTPCookie.h

## Description

This class represents a HTTP Cookie.

A cookie is a small amount of information sent by a Web server to a Web browser, saved by the browser, and later sent back to the server. A cookie's value can uniquely identify a client, so cookies are commonly used for session management.

A cookie has a name, a single value, and optional attributes such as a comment, path and domain qualifiers, a maximum age, and a version number.

This class supports both the Version 0 (by Netscape) and Version 1 (by RFC 2109) cookie specifications. By default, cookies are created using Version 0 to ensure the best interoperability.

## Member Summary

Member Functions: escape, getComment, getDomain, getHttpOnly, getMaxAge, getName, getPath, getSecure, getValue, getVersion, operator =, setComment, setDomain, setHttpOnly, setMaxAge, setName, setPath, setSecure, setValue, setVersion, toString, unescape

## Constructors

### HTTPCookie

HTTPCookie();

Creates an empty HTTPCookie.

### HTTPCookie

explicit HTTPCookie(
const std::string & name
);

Creates a cookie with the given name. The cookie never expires.

### HTTPCookie

explicit HTTPCookie(
const NameValueCollection & nvc
);

Creates a cookie from the given NameValueCollection.

### HTTPCookie

HTTPCookie(
const HTTPCookie & cookie
);

Creates the HTTPCookie by copying another one.

### HTTPCookie

HTTPCookie(
const std::string & name,
const std::string & value
);

Creates a cookie with the given name and value. The cookie never expires.

Note: If value contains whitespace or non-alphanumeric characters, the value should be escaped by calling escape() before passing it to the constructor.

## Destructor

### ~HTTPCookie

~HTTPCookie();

Destroys the HTTPCookie.

## Member Functions

### escape

static std::string escape(
const std::string & str
);

Escapes the given string by replacing all non-alphanumeric characters with escape sequences in the form %xx, where xx is the hexadecimal character code.

The following characters will be replaced with escape sequences:

- percent sign %
- less-than and greater-than < and >
- curly brackets { and }
- square brackets [ and ]
- parenthesis ( and )
- solidus /
- vertical line |
- reverse solidus (backslash /)
- quotation mark "
- apostrophe '
- circumflex accent ^
- grave accent `
- comma and semicolon , and ;
- whitespace and control characters

### getComment

const std::string & getComment() const;

Returns the comment for the cookie.

### getDomain

const std::string & getDomain() const;

Returns the domain for the cookie.

### getHttpOnly

bool getHttpOnly() const;

Returns true if and only if the cookie's HttpOnly flag is set.

### getMaxAge

int getMaxAge() const;

Returns the maximum age in seconds for the cookie.

### getName

const std::string & getName() const;

Returns the name of the cookie.

### getPath

const std::string & getPath() const;

Returns the path for the cookie.

### getSecure

bool getSecure() const;

Returns the value of the secure flag for the cookie.

### getValue

const std::string & getValue() const;

Returns the value of the cookie.

### getVersion

int getVersion() const;

Returns the version of the cookie, which is either 0 or 1.

### operator =

HTTPCookie & operator = (
const HTTPCookie & cookie
);

Assigns a cookie.

### setComment

void setComment(
const std::string & comment
);

Sets the comment for the cookie.

Comments are only supported for version 1 cookies.

### setDomain

void setDomain(
const std::string & domain
);

Sets the domain for the cookie.

### setHttpOnly

void setHttpOnly(
bool flag = true
);

Sets the HttpOnly flag for the cookie.

### setMaxAge

void setMaxAge(
int maxAge
);

Sets the maximum age in seconds for the cookie.

A value of -1 causes the cookie to never expire on the client.

A value of 0 deletes the cookie on the client.

### setName

void setName(
const std::string & name
);

Sets the name of the cookie.

### setPath

void setPath(
const std::string & path
);

Sets the path for the cookie.

### setSecure

void setSecure(
bool secure
);

Sets the value of the secure flag for the cookie.

### setValue

void setValue(
const std::string & value
);

Sets the value of the cookie.

According to the cookie specification, the size of the value should not exceed 4 Kbytes.

Note: If value contains whitespace or non-alphanumeric characters, the value should be escaped by calling escape() prior to passing it to setName().

### setVersion

void setVersion(
int version
);

Sets the version of the cookie.

Version must be either 0 (denoting a Netscape cookie) or 1 (denoting a RFC 2109 cookie).

### toString

std::string toString() const;

Returns a string representation of the cookie, suitable for use in a Set-Cookie header.

### unescape

static std::string unescape(
const std::string & str
);

Unescapes the given string by replacing all escape sequences in the form %xx with the respective characters.