The Stateless Web
Writing complex multipage forms using CGI programs offers a unique programming challenge. The connection between a Web browser and a Web server is not a long-term connection. The Web browser connects to the server, retrieves the page, and then disconnects from the Web server. No sustained connection is kept between the server and your browser.
To make matters more complicated, each time the browser connects to the Web server, the Web server doesn't recognize the browser as having been to the site beforehand. The server has no easy way of recognizing the browser each time.
An analogy that works well is that of a conversation between a library patron and a librarian with no memory. The patron is allowed to ask only one question ...
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