Stateless protocol (nonfiction)

In computing, a stateless protocol is a communications protocol in which neither sender nor the receiver retains information about the other party:

• The sender transmits a packet (a request) to the receiver and does not expect an acknowledgment of receipt
• The receiver treats each request as an independent event; the receiver does not retain information about each communications partner from request to request

The receiver is typically a server. The sender may be another server, a web browser, or some system.

A disadvantage of statelessness is that it may be necessary to include additional information in every request (more work for the sender), and this extra information will need to be interpreted by the receiver (more work for the receiver).

A communications protocol which requires keeping of the internal state on the server is known as a stateful protocol. For example, a TCP connection-oriented session is a 'stateful' connection because both systems maintain information about the session itself during its life.

Fiction cross-reference

• Stateless Protocol (perfume)

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Computer science (nonfiction)

External links

• Stateless protocol