PHP & JS - Cookie value in If Statement causes Bug

Question

I am trying to make a function with HTML, JS and PHP that does the following:

1. When a HTML "button" is pressed, it gives values to a $_GET array;
2. When those values exist on the $_GET array it pops up a JavaScript confirm window;
3. If the user presses "OK" the JS gives to a $_COOKIE array the value of true. If the user presses "CANCEL" JS gives to $_COOKIE array the value of false;
4. For last the $_COOKIE array is checked with PHP, and if it is true it does something. Otherwise it doesn't do nothing.

Where is the code for each step:

// STEP 1
<a href="page.php?remove=true&id-organ=1">Remove</a>

// STEP 2 AND 3
if (isset($_GET['remove']) && isset($_GET['id-organ'])) {
       echo '
           <script>
                var option = confirm("REMOVE?");
                if (option == true) {
                    document.cookie = "option = true";
                } else {
                    document.cookie = "option = false";
                }
           </script>
       ';
}

// STEP 4
if ($_COOKIE['option'] == true) {
    echo '
        <script>
            window.alert("ORGAN WAS REMOVED!\n");
        </script>
    ';
    
} 

If JS Confirm Window "OK" is pressed everything works fine, awesome, with no problem.

If JS Confirm Window "CANCEL" is pressed, the STEP 4 if statement happens anyway.

• I have tried to console.log(option) which is false for CANCEL button.
• I have tried to echo $_COOKIE['option'] wihch is also false for CANCEL button.

This make no sense being literally against all"programming physics". . .

Can someone tell me why is this happening? Am I doing something wrong? Is there a better way for this type of functionality?

Answer 1

The cookie value you set in JS is always a string. (Cookie content is mere text, by definition. No one stops you to interpret that value as something else, after you received it in string form - you could for example set a JSON-encoded object as the cookie value. But that doesn’t change the fact, that the value of the cookie itself, is and will always be text.)

if ($_COOKIE['option'] == true)

Your comparison in PHP is wrong here - because here, you are not comparing with a string.

The text values 'true' and 'false' are both truth-y in PHP - 'true' == true and 'false' == true both yield true.

What you need here, is if ($_COOKIE['option'] == 'true') (or even with ===, to make absolutely sure there is no ambiguity whatsoever.)