// Gets the value of the named cookie

function get_cookie ( cookie_name )
{
  var results = document.cookie.match ( '(^|;) ?' + cookie_name + '=([^;]*)(;|$)' );

  if ( results )
    return ( unescape ( results[2] ) );
  else
    return null;
}


// Sets a cookie for all documents within the site.

function set_cookie ( name, value, path)
{
	path = "/"
  var cookie_string = name + "=" + escape ( value );

  if ( path )
        cookie_string += "; path=" + escape ( path );

  document.cookie = cookie_string;
}


// Deletes the named cookie (by setting its expiry date one second in the past).

function delete_cookie ( cookie_name )
{
  var cookie_date = new Date ( );  // current date & time
  cookie_date.setTime ( cookie_date.getTime() - 1 );
  document.cookie = cookie_name += "=; expires=" + cookie_date.toGMTString();
}