How should PHP developers approach the use of cookies as an alternative to reading files from a user's local machine?

When reading files from a user's local machine is not feasible or secure, PHP developers can use cookies to store and retrieve data on the client-side. This can be done by setting a cookie with the desired data and then accessing it when needed. By using cookies, developers can securely store information on the user's device without the need to access local files. 

// Set a cookie with the desired data
setcookie("user_data", "This is the user's data", time() + 3600, "/");

// Retrieve the data from the cookie
if(isset($_COOKIE['user_data'])) {
    $user_data = $_COOKIE['user_data'];
    echo $user_data;
} else {
    echo "No user data found.";
}

Keywords

cookies PHP file reading local machine alternative

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