In REST, which principle ensures the server does not retain session information between requests, while the client stores session state?

• A. Stateful
• B. Cacheable
• C. Stateless
• D. Uniform Interface

Answer: (C)

Statelessness in REST means the server does not retain session information between requests, while the client stores session state. Each request must carry all the information needed to process it, such as authentication tokens or credentials included with the request. Because no server-side session exists, any server instance can handle any request, making horizontal scaling easier and memory usage lower. It also allows responses to be cacheable and independent of previous interactions, improving performance. The other concepts don’t define where session state lives: being stateful would contradict REST by requiring the server to remember sessions; cacheability focuses on performance of responses, not where state is stored; and the uniform interface constraint governs interaction and representation, not session management.