Cookies make for a very good "cardboard box". Since they
are fully replaceable you can embed arbitrary information within
them including products for a shopping cart. When you want to
add another product the server simply adds another cookie or
replaces your current one with another one that represents
an additional product. The same can be done to remove a product.
>
> Instead, like any client-side state, the shopping basket makes most
> sense as a document -- something the user can see and act upon.
> And like any association, the relationships tying various "vendor
> stalls" with the associated shopping basket should be established
> using links.
Document level information storage fails quite badly at providing that
functionality.
Since the server needs to process the information to make it
usable and since documents don't get resent to servers trying
to embed information in a document doesn't work in practice.
People have tried to embed the information in hidden form
elements and URLs but the systems inevitably have their problems
since alternate navigation mechanisms available to the user
break these systems.
:lou
--
Lou Montulli http://www.mcom.com/people/montulli/
Netscape Communications Corp.