REST, JWT and the Stateless Situation

The statement raises an interesting point about REST, JWT (JSON Web Tokens), and the concept of sessions. Let’s break it down:

REST is stateless

• Core Principle: REST (Representational State Transfer) is designed to be stateless, meaning each request from a client to a server must contain all the information needed to understand and process the request. The server does not retain session state between requests.
• Example: In a RESTful architecture, authentication and state information are often sent in each request (e.g., through headers or query parameters).

JWT and its role

• JWT Basics: JWT is a compact, URL-safe token that is typically used for authentication and data exchange. It contains claims that are encoded in JSON format and are often signed (and sometimes encrypted) for integrity and security.
• Stateless Authentication: When used for stateless authentication, a JWT replaces traditional session mechanisms. The token itself contains all the necessary information, eliminating the need for server-side session storage.

Is JWT a session or a workaround?

• JWT is not a session in the traditional sense:
• Sessions traditionally rely on server-side storage (e.g., session IDs stored in a database or memory) to track a user's state.
• JWTs are stateless because all information is embedded in the token itself, which the client sends with each request.
• JWT as a marketed workaround:
• You could argue that JWTs are a workaround for session-like behavior in stateless REST systems. They allow REST to maintain a semblance of user state without violating statelessness because the "state" is encapsulated within the client-held token.

Key Differences Between JWT and Traditional Sessions:

JWTs are not sessions but can serve as a stateless replacement for session-like behavior in RESTful systems. Whether they are a "workaround" depends on your perspective: they adhere to REST's stateless nature but bring session-like benefits to REST APIs.