Persistant client state in a hypertext transfer protocol based client-server system

Abstract

A method and apparatus for transferring state information between a server computer system and a client computer system. In one embodiment of the method, an http client requests a file, such as an HTML document, on an http server, and the http server transmits the file to the http client. In addition, the http server transmits a state object, which describes certain state information, to the http client. The http client stores the state object, and will typically send the state object back to the http server when making later requests for files on the http server. In a typical embodiment, the state object includes a domain attribute which specifies a domain or network address, and the state object is transmitted from the http client to a server only when the http client makes an http request to the server and the server is within the domain. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a processor and memory and a computer readable medium which stores program instructions. In the case of the client system, the instructions specify operations such as receiving and storing the state information; in the case of the server system, the instructions specify operations such as sending the state information to a client system.

1 . A method for accessing user information at a server using cookies, said method comprising: 
 accessing a server with a client computer system;    receiving a cookie from said server at said client computer system, said cookie being stored on said client computer system and specifying said user information;    wherein said cookie comprises a domain attribute defining a domain from which said cookie was transmitted by said server and for which said cookie is valid; and    transmitting said cookie from said client computer system to a server at which said user information is available when said client computer system makes a request to access said user information.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said user information comprises any of: 
 user identification information and billing information.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said cookie specifies an expiration date and/or time.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said cookie comprises a path attribute defining a file system path and said cookie is transmitted from said client computer system to said server if said client computer system makes a request to said server for access to user information that is within said path at said server.