Session Tracking

Session tracking involves monitoring and managing a user's interaction with the application over time, ensuring the preservation of their authenticated state across different parts of the application.

This eliminates the need for repeated logins, thereby enhancing both security and user convenience. There are two primary methods used for session tracking:

Cookie-based
Database sessions

Cookie-based session tracking relies on HTTP cookies to store and retrieve session identifiers. When a user logs in, a unique session identifier is generated and stored within a cookie on the user's device. Subsequently, with each request sent to the server, this identifier is transmitted back, allowing the server to associate the request with the corresponding session data.

Advantages:

Lightweight implementation.
Widely supported by web browsers.
Requires minimal server-side storage.

Limitations:

Vulnerable to security risks such as session hijacking and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
Dependency on client-side storage, which can be manipulated or disabled by users.

Database Sessions

Database session tracking involves storing session data directly within a database on the server-side. Upon user authentication, a unique session identifier is generated and associated with a record in the database containing relevant session information. Subsequent requests from the user include this identifier, allowing the server to retrieve the associated session data from the database.

Advantages:

Enhanced security compared to cookie-based sessions, as session data is stored securely on the server-side.
Greater flexibility in managing and manipulating session data.
Suitable for applications requiring robust session management capabilities.

Limitations:

Increased server-side resource utilization, particularly for high-traffic applications.
Potential performance overhead due to database operations.
Complexity in implementation and maintenance compared to cookie-based sessions.