STATELESS

Stateful and stateless are adjectives that describe whether a computer or computer program is designed to note and remember one or more preceding events in a given sequence of interactions with a user, another computer or program, a device, or other outside element.

The Internet's basic protocol, the Internet Protocol ( IP ), is an example of a stateless interaction. Each packet travels entirely on its own without reference to any other packet. When you request a Web page from a Web site, the request travels in one or more packets, each independent of the other as far as the Internet Protocol program itself is concerned.

The Web's Hypertext Transfer Protocol ( HTTP ), an application layer above TCP/IP, is also stateless. Each request from a user for a Web page or URL results in the requested pages being served, but without the Web (HTTP) server remembering the request later.

The Internet (including the World Wide Web) can be thought of as a stateless system or machine. Most computers, human beings, and elephants are stateful.