<?php
/**
* Store an array inside a cookie as a JSON String
* Useful for passing large bits of data :)
* @author LiamC
* @param $var = cookie value
* @param $limit = size limit. default and max size for a cookie is 4kb.
**/
function cookieArray($var, $limit=4096, $cookie_name="my_cookie")
{
//check if we have cookie
if($_COOKIE[$cookie_name])
{
//decode cookie string from JSON
$cookieArr = (array) json_decode($_COOKIE[$cookie_name]);
//push additional data
array_push($cookieArr, $var);
//remove empty values
foreach($cookieArr as $k => $v){ if($v == '' || is_null($v) || $v == 0){ unset($cookieArr[$k]); } }
//encode data again for cookie
$cookie_data = json_encode($cookieArr);
//need to limit cookie size. Default is set to 4Kb. If it is greater than limit. it then gets reset.
$cookie_data = mb_strlen($cookie_data) >= $limit ? '' : $cookie_data;
//destroy cookie
setcookie($cookie_name, '', time()-3600 , '/');
//set cookie with new data and expires after a week
setcookie($cookie_name, $cookie_data, time()+(3600*24*7) , '/');
}else{
//create cookie with json string etc.
$cookie_data = json_encode($var);
//set cookie expires after a week
setcookie($cookie_name, $cookie_data, time()+(3600*24*7) , '/');
}//end if
}//end cookieArray
?>
