HTTP_COOKIE variable not set

[Tim Roberts]

Bevan Koopman <bevank at dstc.edu.au> wrote:
>
>When I run the script below the 'HTTP_COOKIE' environment variable is
>not set, i.e. "HTTP_COOKIE" does not appear in the scripts output:

Of course not.  The Cookie module doesn't set any environment variables.
HTTP_COOKIE is set by the web server (for example, Apache or IIS) when it
launches a CGI script in response to a form request from a browser.

The Cookie module is just a shortcut for creating a Set-Cookie header line
to be sent back to the web browser.  The next time that browser sends a
request, it will include the cookie in ITS headers; Apache will read those
headers and create the HTTP_COOKIE environment variable for you.

Are you trying to use cookies to communicate between two normal (non-CGI)
Python scripts?  That ain't gonna work.  There's no easy way to change the
environment of the shell that called you.

>#####################
>import cgi
>import os
>import Cookie
>
>print "Content-Type:text/html\n\n"
>
>cookie = Cookie.SimpleCookie()
>cookie["user"] = the_user

Change this to:

print "Content-Type: text/html"
cookie = Cookie.SimpleCookie()
cookie["user"] = the_user
print cookie
print

That prints the appropriate Set-Cookie header as part of the set of HTTP
headers.  It STILL doesn't set the environment variable; that won't happen
until the NEXT request you get from that browser.

>Hence when I run the following script the key is not found
>
>#####################
>import cgi
>import os
>import Cookie
>
>c = Cookie.SimpleCookie()
>if(os.environ.has_key('HTTP_COOKIE')):
>	c.load(os.environ['HTTP_COOKIE'])
>	print c["user"].value
>else:
>	print "no user"
>#####################
>
>How do I correctly create the cookie so I can retrieve in the second
>script.

If that second script is called as a CGI script from the same browser that
receives the page from the FIRST script, it will work.
--
- Tim Roberts, timr at probo.com
  Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.