Stateless vs. Stateful Services

When designing systems, a key decision is how your services handle 'state' – information about past interactions.

Services can either remember past client requests (stateful) or treat each request as completely new (stateless).

Understanding this difference is crucial for building systems that can grow and recover from issues.

A stateless service doesn't store any information about previous client requests or sessions. Each request is processed independently.

• Every request contains all the necessary data for the server to fulfill it.
• The server doesn't rely on any stored 'state' from prior interactions.

Think of it like an ATM: you insert your card, complete a transaction, and the machine doesn't 'remember' you for your next visit.