Cookie Dump Tool
See exactly which cookies the browser discloses to your scripts —
— instead of wading through a list of all the cookies the browser contains to try to determine which would and would not be disclosed to your script at the location the script is running.
The Cookie Dump software will prove to be a handy tool for many site developers reading this article.
Cookie Dump is a PHP script you upload into the directory where the script you are testing is located. Run it in a separate browser tab or window.
Whenever you want an updated list of cookies the browser discloses to scripts in that directory, refresh the Cookie Dump page.
That's the tool. And here's the Cookie Dump source code. No modifications required.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Cookie Dump</title>
<style type="text/css">
a { text-decoration:none; }
body { margin:0; font-size:100%; font-family:verdana, arial, sans-serif; }
th { font-size:.75em; }
td { font-size:1.25em; font-family:monospace; }
table {border-collapse:collapse; }
</style></head>
<body><div style="padding:75px 50px 100px 50px; display:table; margin:auto auto;">
<h1 style="font-weight:normal; letter-spacing:3px;"><a href="https://www.willmaster.com/">
<img src="https://www.willmaster.com/images/wmlogo_icon.gif" style="width:50px; height:50px; border:none;" alt="Willmaster logo">
</a> Cookie Dump</h1>
<?php
/*
Cookie Values Dump
Version 1.0
June 8, 2014
Will Bontrager Software LLC
https://www.willmaster.com/
Copyright 2014 Will Bontrager Software LLC
This software is provided "AS IS," without
any warranty of any kind, without even any
implied warranty such as merchantability
or fitness for a particular purpose.
Will Bontrager Software LLC grants
you a royalty free license to use or
modify this software provided this
notice appears on all copies.
*/
if( count($_COOKIE) )
{
$tabstart = '<tr><td valign="top">';
echo('<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">');
echo('<tr><th>Cookie Name</th><th>Cookie Value</th></tr>');
ksort($_COOKIE);
foreach($_COOKIE as $k => $v)
{
$pk = htmlspecialchars($k);
if( is_array($_COOKIE[$k]) )
{
$counter = 0;
$pkh = array();
foreach( $_COOKIE[$k] as $kk => $vv )
{
if( empty($vv) ) { $pv = ' '; }
else { $pv = htmlspecialchars($vv); }
$pkh[$counter] = $pk.'['.$counter.']'."\t$pv";
$counter++;
}
foreach( $pkh as $tpk => $tpv )
{
list($tk,$tv) = explode("\t",$tpv,2);
echo("${tabstart}$tk</td><td>$tv</td></tr>");
}
}
else
{
if( empty($v) ) { $pv = ' '; }
else { $pv = htmlspecialchars($v); }
echo("${tabstart}$pk</td><td>$pv</td></tr>");
}
}
echo('</table>');
}
else { echo('<h4 style="font-weight:normal;">No cookies received from the browser.</h4>'); }
?>
<p style="margin-top:30px; padding:0 10px 0 5px; border-radius:5px; display:table; box-shadow:-3px 3px 3px 0px #ccc;">
Copyright 2015 <a href="https://www.willmaster.com/">Will Bontrager Software, LLC</a>
</p>
</body>
</html>
Save the source code to your hard drive as CookieDump.php
Whenever you need to know what cookies the browser is sending to your software, upload CookieDump.php into the same directory as the software. Then paste its URL into a browser tab or window separate from the one in which the software is being tested. This lets you reload the Cookie Dump software for the latest cookie list without impeding your software testing.
No more wading through the browser's list, trying to determine which cookies the browser is sending to your software.
Cookie Dump is a better way to see which cookies your software has access to.
For PHP software that's a bit more advanced, that allows you to set and remove cookies right from the control panel, see the Cookie Control for Site Developers library article.
(This article first appeared in Possibilities ezine.)
Will Bontrager
