Checking if a $_COOKIE value is empty or not

Question

I assign a cookie to a variable:

$user_cookie = $_COOKIE[\"user\"];

How can I check if the $user_cookie received some value or

Answer 1

isset(), however keep in mind, like empty() it cannot be used on expressions, only variables.

isset($_COOKIE['user']); // ok

isset($user_cookie = $_COOKIE['user']); // not ok

$user_cookie = $_COOKIE['user'];
isset($user_cookie); // ok

(isset() is the way to go, when dealing with cookies)