Set the cookie like:

use CGI;
my $q = new CGI;

sub set_cookie {
    my ( $username ) = @_;
    my $cookie = $q->cookie( -name => 'validated', 
                             -value => $username, 
                             -expires => '+1h', 
                           ); 
    print $q->header( -cookie=>$cookie );
}
[download]

This sets a cookie called 'validated' which contains the users name and expires in one hour. If you keep resetting it the 1 hour session contiunes until 1 hour of disuse.

Check the cookie like this:

# returns username stored in cookie if we have validated user or 0 if 
+not
sub validate {
    return $q->cookie('validated')  if $q->cookie('validated');
  return 0;
}
[download]

You don't really need to put the password in the cookie but a checksum is a good idea so it can't be spoofed. Consider how your site (won't) work if cookies are disabled. Another non cookie approach is to use 'hidden' fields and a checksum (like the one you need to put in your cookie)

use CGI;
use Crypt::Blowfish;
use Crypt::CBC;
my $q = new CGI;
my $c = new Crypt::CBC( 'gnuisnotunix','Blowfish');

my $hidden_fields = '';
if ( validate( $q->param('username'), $q->param('password') ) {
    my $hidden_fields = get_hidden_fields( $q->param('username');
    show_database_form($hidden_fields)
}
else {
    error( 'Invalid username/pass' );
}

sub validate {
    my ( $username, $password ) = @_;
  # validate using the user/pass
  return 1 if $username eq 'foo' and $password eq 'bar';
  # alternatively validate on the hidden fields
  return 1 if validate_checksum();
  return 0;
}

sub get_hidden_fields {
    my $username = shift;
    my $checksum = $c->encrypt_hex($username);
  return <<HTML;
<input type="hidden" name="username" value="$username">
<input type="hidden" name="checksum" value="$checksum">
HTML;
}

sub validate_checksum {
    return $c->decrypt_hex($q->param('checksum')) eq $q->param('userna
+me') ? 1 : 0;
}

sub show_database_form {
    my $hidden = shift;
  return <<HTML;
<form method="POST" action="$MY_CGI">
$hidden
blah blah
<input type="submit" value="Submit" name="Submit">
</form>
HTML
}
[download]

cheers

tachyon

s&&rsenoyhcatreve&&&s&n.+t&"$'$`$\"$\&"&ee&&y&srve&&d&&print

---

---

Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!

Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.

Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.

Please read these before you post! —

• How do I compose an effective node title?
• How do I post a question effectively?
• Markup in the Monastery

Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:

a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr

You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)

	For:		Use:
	&		&
	<		&lt;
	>		&gt;
	[		&#91;
	]		&#93;

Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?

See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.