Session-return enabling stateful web applications

A method for session-return to enable a multi-session enabled web application using state information, the method comprising:

• receiving at an application server, a request from a client for a new multi-session enabled web application session, the request comprising an external session identifier (ESID) that identifies the session of the multi-session enabled web application;
• determining whether the ESID was previously stored in a session memory at the application server to identify a previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session and to be associated with session return state information stored in the session memory, the session return state information characterizing a state of the session as of receipt of the termination URL including the ESID at the application server;
• if the ESID is stored in the session memory with the associated session return state of the previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session, reading the session return state information from the session memory and creating a new instance of a previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session by serving the new multi-session enabled web application session according to the session return state and thereby duplicating the previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session;
• and
• if the identifier does not correspond to the ESID of the terminated multi-session enabled web application session, serving the new multi-session enabled web application session in a startup mode.

A machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a system comprising at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations enabling a multi-session enabled web application using state information, the operations comprising:

• receiving at an application server, a request from a client for a new multi-session enabled web application session, the request comprising an external session identifier (ESID) that identifies the session of the multi-session enabled web application;
• determining whether the ESID was previously stored in a session memory at the application server to identify a previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session and to be associated with session return state information stored in the session memory, the session return state information characterizing a state of the session as of receipt of the termination URL including the ESID at the application server;
• if the ESID is stored in the session memory with the associated session return state of the previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session reading the session return state information from the session memory and creating a new instance of a previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session by serving the new multi-session enabled web application session according to the session return state and thereby duplicating the previously terminated multi-session enabled web application session;
• and
• if the identifier does not correspond to the ESID of the terminated multi-session enabled web application session, serving the new multi-session enabled web application session in a startup mode.

A computer program product comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a system comprising at least one programmable processor, cause the system to perform operations supporting session-return to a multi-session enabled web application that is served from an application server implemented on one or more processors, the operations comprising:

• creating a first instance of a session of the multi-session enabled web application upon receipt at the application server of a first start uniform resource locator (URL), the creating comprising allocating application server resources that remain allocated to the first instance of the session until a termination URL is received by the application server, the first start URL comprising an external session identifier (ESID) that identifies the session of the multi-session enabled web application, the first instance being created without preexisting state information if session return state information corresponding to the external session identifier has not been previously stored in a session memory of the application server, the state information including one or more of user input data from previously viewed web pages, a navigation history, and data needed by the application to respond to a user;
• providing the first instance to the user via a portal page in a browser on a client machine;
• receiving, at the application server, the termination URL indicating that the user has navigated away from the first instance of the session, the termination URL including the ESID and being sent from the browser upon the user navigating away;
• storing session return state information in the session memory of the application server after termination of the first instance of the session, the session return state information characterizing a state of the session as of receipt of the termination URL at the application server;
• the session return state information being associated with the ESID which is also stored in the session memory;
• releasing, by the application server, all resources associated with the first instance of the session;
• receiving, at the application server, a request from the client for a new instance of the session of the multi-session enabled web application, and determining if the request includes the ESID;
• and
• if the request includes the ESID, reading the session return state information from the session memory and creating the new instance of the session by restoring the session to the state characterized by the session state information.