HTTP Cookie - Implementation

Implementation

Cookies are arbitrary pieces of data chosen by the Web server and sent to the browser. The browser returns them unchanged to the server, introducing a state (memory of previous events) into otherwise stateless HTTP transactions. Without cookies, each retrieval of a Web page or component of a Web page is an isolated event, mostly unrelated to all other views of the pages of the same site. Other than being set by a web server, cookies can also be set by a script in a language such as JavaScript, if supported and enabled by the Web browser.

Cookie specifications suggest that browsers should be able to save and send back a minimal number of cookies. In particular, a web browser is expected to be able to store at least 300 cookies of four kilobytes each, and at least 20 cookies per server or domain.

Read more about this topic:  HTTP Cookie