/* function to set the value of the specifed cookie*/
function setCookie(name, value, expires, path, domain, secure)
  {	var expString = ((expires == '') ? ' ' : ('; expires=' + expires.toGMTString()));
            var pathString = ((path == '') ? ('; path=/') : ('; path=' + path));
 	var domainString = ((domain == '') ? ' ' : ('; domain=' + domain));
            var secureString = ((secure == true) ? '; secure' : '');	
            document.cookie = name + '=' + value + expString + pathString + domainString + secureString;
}
/* function to extract the current cookie from the cookie arr*/
function getCookie(name) 
{  
	var start = document.cookie.indexOf(name+"="); 
	var len = start+name.length+1; 
	if ((!start) && (name != document.cookie.substring(0,name.length))) return null; 
	if (start == -1) return null; 
	var end = document.cookie.indexOf(";",len); 
	if (end == -1) end = document.cookie.length; 
	return unescape(document.cookie.substring(len,end)); 
} 
/* Delete a cookie */
function deleteCookie(cookiename) 
{
  var exp = new Date();

  exp.setTime(exp.getTime() - 1);
  var cookieVal = getCookie(cookiename);
  if (cookieVal != null)
    document.cookie = name + "=" + cookieVal + "; expires=" + exp.toGMTString();

  return;
}