[Phplib-users] OT: Cookie usage (was: Sessions where are we going??)

[Layne W. <la...@if...>]

> > this supposes that any browser window shares the same cookie.
> > I am using Netscape, and it does, but I heard IE might do not.
>
> IE is even more "pervasive" than Netscape. From experience, IE
> does share cookies. If you have Active Desktop running you have
> to actually logout/reboot to clear out session cookies, so I
> don't think you need to worry about different windows not
> recognising cookies or having old cookie values.

A few months ago we hashed this out on the list and someone whose name I
cannot remember enlightened me about IE's behaviour. (I don't know how the
Active Desktop plays into this.)

IE can share cookies or not depending on the user. On a Windows machine it
is possible to force IE into a separate process and therefore not share
cookies. By launching a new copy of IE - by using the start menu, quick
launch bar, etc - you spawn a new process. Windows, of course, is too stupid
to alert you to this fact and there is no way to know after the fact which
browser windows belong to which processes. If, on the other hand, you use
Ctrl-N to open a new window or if JavaScript opens a new window that window
belongs to the same process. IE on a Macintosh, and every other browser on
every other platform I have ever encountered, always shares cookies.

Because everything happens behind the scenes, I could not reconcile
conflicting reports by users until I was informed how it all works.

Layne Weathers
Ifworld Inc.