Set cookie after output without ob_start

Question

I'm guessing not, but is there a way to set a cookie in PHP without having to put ob_start() at the start of the output?

My problem is, that I am developing a class, which among others, needs to set a cookie. Now I can't tell the person who uses it "you have to make a new instance of the class before you make any output", cause that would be lame. So can I somehow pull it off?

It's not lame to do so if it's your code, it's just lame to force another developer to do so because he wants to use your class. — Eduard Luca, Feb 03 '12 at 16:06
If you document that the class is responsible for sending HTTP headers (like Set-Cookie), there's nothing wrong with saying that it needs to be used before any output is sent. That's exactly what the `setcookie` documentation says, for example. — JW., Feb 03 '12 at 16:51

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 03 '12 at 16:30

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You cannot. Cookies are sent as part of the header, so if you've already sent the body, it's too late. Output buffering is the solution.

Perhaps you could use session variables instead.

answered Feb 03 '12 at 16:30

Matthew

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I will probably do that only in the case the cookie cannot be set, so thanks, this is a good suggestion too :) – Eduard Luca Feb 04 '12 at 19:29

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:20

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See Headers already sent by PHP

The unprofessional workarounds listed there apply. Specifically:

<META HTTP-EQUIV="Set-Cookie" 
CONTENT="cookievalue=xy;expires=Friday, 14-Dec-12 12:12:12 GMT; path=/">

Or use javascript and set document.cookie.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:20

Community

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answered Feb 03 '12 at 23:26

mario

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score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 21 '12 at 17:04

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This is my workround and is working fine for me.

// Force set cookie now
$_COOKIE['ref_url'] = $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];

// Set cookie after refresh site
setcookie('ref_url', $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'], Affiliate::$cookieTime);

// Diplay $_COOKIE
var_dump($_COOKIE['ref_url']);

edited Sep 21 '12 at 17:04

Arnestig

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answered Sep 21 '12 at 12:28

keraj

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$_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] is sometimes empty, so test it up first before using it. $url_referrer = empty($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'])?'':$_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']; – fedmich Sep 22 '12 at 02:04

Set cookie after output without ob_start

3 Answers3