Cookie use: holding items in an online shopping cart

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A student adds a pair of trainers to an online shopping cart, then clicks to another page of the shop. What lets the website remember the trainers are still in the cart?

A The web page is automatically saved on the DNS server

B A cookie stored by the browser remembers the cart items

2. Which statement about a shopping cart cookie is correct?

A It keeps the cart contents as the user moves between pages

B It empties the cart every time a new page loads

3. A shop only needs the cart to last for one shopping visit. Which type of cookie suits this best?

A Session cookie

B Persistent cookie

4. A shop wants a customer's cart to still be there when they come back tomorrow. Which type of cookie is needed?

A Persistent cookie

B Session cookie

5. A user adds a book to the cart, closes the browser, and reopens it. The cart is now empty. Which cookie was most likely used?

A A persistent cookie

B A session cookie

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Set-Cookie: cart=pencil,ruler		AThe server tells the browser to store a cookie named cart that remembers the items the user added to their shopping cart.
2Set-Cookie: cart=book; Max-Age=604800		BSet-Cookie: cart=shoes; Max-Age=86400
3A session cookie suits one shopping visit because it is deleted when the browser is closed.		CA session cookie is the better choice for one visit, because it is deleted when the browser closes. A persistent cookie would leave the cart stored for the next person to see.
4A persistent cookie keeps a cart for later because it stays stored until its expiry date.		DA persistent shopping cart cookie that keeps the cart for 7 days, so the items are still there when the user returns later.
5Page 1: cart=hat. Page 2: no cookie sent, cart is empty		ESet-Cookie: cart=shoes
6A persistent cookie is used for a cart on a shared school computer to hold items for one visit		FThe browser did not send the cart cookie back to the server on page 2, so the server forgot the item. The cookie must be sent with each request so the cart survives moving between pages.

Definitions

shopping cart cookie

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

__________: cart=item42

Set-Cookie: cart=item42; _______=604800

GET /basket.html HTTP/1.1 ______: cart=item42

Set-Cookie: cart=item42 # no Max-Age: a _______ cookie

Set-Cookie: cart=item42; Max-Age=86400 # __________: cart kept for later visits

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A INPUT item

B cart ← cart + item

C DELETE cart FROM cookie

D GO TO next page

Question 2

A cookie.type ← "session"

B cart ← READ cookie

C cart ← cart + "Shoes"

D WRITE "empty" TO cookie

Question 3

A ON page load:

B cart ← []

C OUTPUT cart

Question 4

A // One shopping visit

B cookie.type ← "persistent"

C lasts ← "browser closed"

Question 5

A // Keep cart for next week

B cookie.type ← "session"

C cart ← READ cookie

D OUTPUT cart

Answer Key

Cookie use: holding items in an online shopping cart

Section A: Quick Questions

B — A cookie stored by the browser remembers the cart items

A — It keeps the cart contents as the user moves between pages

A — Session cookie

A — Persistent cookie

B — A session cookie

Section B: Match the Pairs

Set-Cookie: cart=pencil,ruler → The server tells the browser to store a cookie named cart that remembers the items the user added to their shopping cart.

Set-Cookie: cart=book; Max-Age=604800 → A persistent shopping cart cookie that keeps the cart for 7 days, so the items are still there when the user returns later.

A session cookie suits one shopping visit because it is deleted when the browser is closed. → Set-Cookie: cart=shoes

A persistent cookie keeps a cart for later because it stays stored until its expiry date. → Set-Cookie: cart=shoes; Max-Age=86400

Page 1: cart=hat. Page 2: no cookie sent, cart is empty → The browser did not send the cart cookie back to the server on page 2, so the server forgot the item. The cookie must be sent with each request so the cart survives moving between pages.

A persistent cookie is used for a cart on a shared school computer to hold items for one visit → A session cookie is the better choice for one visit, because it is deleted when the browser closes. A persistent cookie would leave the cart stored for the next person to see.

Section C: Definitions

shopping cart cookie — A cookie that remembers which items a user has added to an online shopping cart, so the cart is not emptied as they move between pages. It can last one visit or be kept for later.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Set-Cookie: cart=item42

Set-Cookie: cart=item42; Max-Age=604800

GET /basket.html HTTP/1.1
Cookie: cart=item42

Set-Cookie: cart=item42
# no Max-Age: a session cookie

Set-Cookie: cart=item42; Max-Age=86400
# persistent: cart kept for later visits

Section E: Spot the Error

C — The cart must be stored in the cookie so it survives the move to the next page. Deleting it would empty the cart. It should be STORE cart IN cookie.

D — Writing "empty" overwrites the cookie and loses the items. The updated cart, including the shoes, should be written back: WRITE cart TO cookie.

B — Setting the cart to an empty list empties it on every new page. The page should read the saved cart from the cookie: cart ← READ cookie "cart".

B — A cart for one shopping visit suits a session cookie, which is deleted when the browser closes. A persistent cookie would be kept longer than needed. It should be "session".

B — A session cookie is deleted when the browser closes, so the cart would be lost. To keep the cart for later, use a persistent cookie: cookie.type ← "persistent".