Information distributed across the web is stateless. A new web page is uploaded to the server for each request on a website. The previous data isn't retained.
State management is a developing concept that tackles this problem and maintains the current state of UI elements across the website.
View state and Session state are two types of state management techniques that help developers share information between different UI elements and interfaces.
State management concerned with the client-side uses View state. It stores the information in text fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons within a hidden field of a web page, not shared between the other web pages of the website.
During a POST event, it'll retain this information only accessible by elements of the same web page; however, loss of this information occurs as soon as another page is loaded.
Server-side state management utilizes user sessions to maintain information and its flow shared between the website's web pages. The web server stores the client session information and uses cookies to store keys associated with a particular client.
Session expiration can clear a user's information. A timeout occurs due to a user's inactivity on a webpage, and the session expires to prevent data loss to non-authentic users.
Although View state and Session state are both used for state management, the contrast between the two is high.
The following table represents the differences between the two:
View state | Session state |
State management is on the client side. | State management is on the server side. |
Data is accessible within the same web page. | Data is accessible from other web pages of the website. |
Loss of information occurs when different web page is loaded. | Loss of information occurs due to timeout. |
Data is stored in a hidden field of the same web page. | Data is stored in sessions and cookies. |
It's less secure. | It's more secure. |
Suppose we want to create an e-commerce website that requires users' login credentials and, based on the user information, it gives recommendations of products. In this scenario, we want to use the Session state to maintain a user's information all over the website.
Suppose we have a webpage that has three checkboxes and an output field. We'll use a View state that will track the user's selection of checkboxes, and after that, the page will give an output based on the View state.
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