|
What is a cookie?
Where did the term cookies come from?
How do websites use cookies?
Where can I get more information?
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a text-only string that gets entered into the memory of your
browser. This value of a variable that a website sets. If the lifetime
of this value is set to be longer than the time you spend at that site,
then this string is saved to file for future reference.
[Back to Top]
Where did the term cookies come
from?
According to an article written by Paul Bonner for Builder.Com
on 11/18/1997:
"Lou Montulli, currently the protocols manager
in Netscape's client product division, wrote the cookies specification
for Navigator 1.0, the first browser to use the technology. Montulli
says there's nothing particularly amusing about the origin of the
name: 'A cookie is a well-known computer science term that is used
when describing an opaque piece of data held by an intermediary. The
term fits the usage precisely; it's just not a well-known term outside
of computer science circles.'"
[Back to Top]
Why do sites use Cookies?
There are many reasons a given site would wish to use cookies. These
range from the ability to personalize information (like on My Yahoo or
Excite), or to help with on-line sales/services (like on Amazon Books or
eBay), or simply for the purposes of collecting demographic information
(like DoubleClick). Cookies also provide programmers with a quick and
convenient means of keeping site content fresh and relevant to the
user's interests. The newest servers use cookies to help with back-end
interaction as well, which can improve the utility of a site by being
able to securely store any personal data that the user has shared with a
site (to help with quick logins on your favorite sites, for example).
[Back to Top]
Where Can I Get More
Information?
Cookie Central is dedicated
to answering questions about cookies. Feel free to look around.
There's a great article concerning cookies on Marshall
Brain's "How Stuff Works". It goes even deeper than this
FAQ does, especially in the realm of public opinion. Worth a look!
The World Wide Web Consortium has an excellent FAQ to answer the
majority of Internet and Web-related questions. You can read their
topic: "Do
'Cookies' Pose any Security Risks?"
In addition, there are an abundance of resources on the Internet that
can help you find answers to your cookie questions. Conveniently, Yahoo
has a great listing of them. I encourage you to stop by and check the
list out!
[Back to Top]
Copyright ©1997-2002
David Whalen. This document is provided "as is" without any
guarantees or warranty. Although the author has attempted to find and
correct any errors or mistakes he, and everyone who contributed to it,
are not responsible for any damage or losses of any kind caused by the
use or misuse of information in this FAQ. The author is under no
obligation to provide service, corrections, or upgrades to this FAQ.
The following is legal information and refers to all the information in
this document. This information pertains to all use of the FAQ
worldwide. All specific names included in the package are registered
trademarks and are hereby acknowledged. Any other trademarks not
mentioned in the FAQ are still hypothetically acknowledged.
No portion of the document may be separated and distributed
separately without the written permission of the author, David Whalen.
The document can not be included in any publication, such as, but not
limited to: magazines, books, newspapers or newsletters, without the
written permission of the author. The document can not be
included in any software compilation using media such as, but not
limited to: CD-ROM, tape backup, optical disks, hard disks or memory
cards, without the written permission of the author. The document
can not be recompiled, modified or not, and distributed without the
written permission of the author. Visitors are encouraged to send
submissions and error fixes to the author, but the author is in no way
obliged to utilize these enhancements or fixes. In the event of
ambiguity or omission within this notice, all rights and ownership are
retained by the author.
|
