RB wrote:Dissident wrote: With the Internet (on a whole) being stateless
Lol what? Sounds like something Jean-Paul Sartre would say.
LOL @RB
Basically, there is no state when you look at a website. For the most part anyway.
You load up, say, SAfooty.net
You access the server, and the site is literally downloaded to your computer so you can see it. once it's loaded, it's done. The server doesn't know what you are doing, and you're in effect "offline".
It's not until you click a link or something similar, that the server than serves your next request. In between requests, you're offline.
This is the purpose of session cookies. When you log in, you get a cookie on your computer. When you click a link 5 minutes after first logging in, it knows who you are because of the cookie on your computer.
Logging in is like paying entry to a club, and getting a stamp
Then you leave later and want to get back in, they know you were already in, and allowed to be, because of the stamp, and in you go.
Else, you're treated as a new customer - and need to log in again.