Inherits From:
NSObject
Inherits From:
com.apple.yellow.webobjects
Class Description
WOCookie is used for the creation and setting of cookies in your response objects. A cookie allows for the persistent storage of client state. Instead of using a WOSession object (which can potentially have a shorter life span), a cookie allows server-side applications to store state in client browsers for a specific or indeterminate amount of time. An advantage to cookies is that the data will be stored on the client and not on the server, allowing the server to maintain less state information. A specific advantage in WebObjects applications is that cookies allow the server to put state into the browser that is not bound to a session. Hence, the client can "leave" your application and return with its cookie's state intact.
A WOCookie object defines a cookie that can be added to the HTTP header for your response. You create a cookie using the static method cookieWithName
. To add or remove cookies from the response, use the WOResponse methods addCookie
and removeCookie
. To retrieve cookie data, use the WORequest methods cookieValues
, cookieValueForKey
, and cookieValuesForKey
. WORequest returns the data as name/value pairs and not as WOCookie objects, since browsers don't return the additional data WOCookies provide, such as path name and expiration date.
For more information about cookies and their implementation details, see Netscape's preliminary specification at http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html
and RFC 2109 - HTTP State Management Mechanism at http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc2109.html
.
If and when new details evolve in the implementation of cookies, you can subclass WOCookie and implement new behaviors. Pay particular attention to how you override headerString
, which WOResponse uses to fill the HTTP response with a header string.
WOCookie
()
Creates and returns a new empty cookie. To set its attributes, use the appropriate set
methods.
See also:
cookieWithName
, setDomain
, setExpires
, setIsSecure
, setName
, setPath
, setValue
Class Methods
cookieWithName
public static WOCookie cookieWithName
(java.lang.String aName, java.lang.String aValue)
Creates and returns a cookie with just a name and its value. This method sets the path attribute to your application's path.
public static WOCookie cookieWithName
(java.lang.String aName,
java.lang.String aValue,
java.lang.String aPath,
java.lang.String aDomain,
NSDate expirationDate,
boolean flag)
Creates and returns a cookie, specifying all its attributes. For more information, see the descriptions of the methods that return attribute values.
See also:
domain
, expires
, isSecure
, name
, path
, value
Instance Methods
domain
public java.lang.String domain
()
Returns the value of the cookie's "domain" attribute. It's of the form "companyname.com".
expires
public NSDate expires
()
Returns the value of the cookie's "expires" attribute as an NSDate. The expiration date tells the browser how long to keep the cookie in its cache. To have the browser remove the cookie from its cache, set the expiration date to a date in the past.
headerString
public java.lang.String headerString
()
Returns the string that will be used in the HTTP header. The returned string has the format:
Set-cookie: name=value; expires=date; path=path; domain=domain; secure;
The calendar format for the expiration date is:
@"%A, %d-%b-%Y %H:%M:%S GMT"
where all times are converted relative to Greenwich Mean Time.
This method is called by WOResponse when generating the response.
isSecure
public boolean isSecure
()
Returns the cookie's "secure" attribute. This attribute specifies whether the cookie should be transmitted only with secure HTTP. The default value is false.
name
public java.lang.String name
()
Returns the cookie's "name" attribute. The name is similar to the key of a dictionary or hash table. Together, the name and value form the cookie's data.
path
public java.lang.String path
()
Returns the value of the cookie's "path" attribute. Cookies for a specific path are sent only when accessing URLs within that path. For more information on cookies and their paths, see Netscape's preliminary specification at http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html
and RFC 2109 - HTTP State Management Mechanism at http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc2109.html
.
setDomain
public void setDomain
(java.lang.String aDomain)
Sets the cookie's "domain" attribute to aDomain. For more information, see domain
.
See also:
cookieWithName
setExpires
public void setExpires
(NSDate expirationDate)
Sets the cookie's "expires" attribute to expirationDate. For more information, see expires
.
See also:
cookieWithName
setIsSecure
public void setIsSecure
(boolean flag)
Sets the cookie's "secure" attribute to flag. For more information, see isSecure
.
See also:
cookieWithName
setName
public void setName
(java.lang.String aName)
Sets the cookie's "name" attribute to aName. For more information, see name
.
See also:
cookieWithName
setPath
public void setPath
(java.lang.String aPath)
Sets the cookie's "path" attribute to aPath. For more information, see path
.
See also:
cookieWithName
setValue
public void setValue
(java.lang.String aValue)
Sets the cookie's "value" attribute to aValue. For more information, see value
.
See also:
cookieWithName
value
public java.lang.String value
()
Returns the value of the cookie's value attribute. This attribute is similar to the value of a dictionary or hash table. Together, the name and value form the cookie's data.