Session framework configuration in Django - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the purpose of Django's session framework?

Django's session framework stores and retrieves data on a per-site-visitor basis. It lets you keep information about users across requests without requiring them to log in.

beginner

Where do you configure the session engine in a Django project?

You configure the session engine in the settings.py file using the SESSION_ENGINE setting.

intermediate

Name two built-in session backends provided by Django.

Django provides several session backends, including:<br>- django.contrib.sessions.backends.db (database-backed sessions)<br>- django.contrib.sessions.backends.cache (cache-backed sessions)

beginner

How does Django identify a user's session across requests?

Django uses a session ID stored in a cookie named sessionid on the user's browser. This ID links the user to their session data on the server.

intermediate

What setting controls the duration a session lasts before expiring in Django?

The SESSION_COOKIE_AGE setting controls how long a session cookie lasts in seconds. By default, it is set to 1209600 seconds (2 weeks).

Which setting in Django specifies the backend used to store session data?

A SESSION_ENGINE

B SESSION_BACKEND

C SESSION_STORE

D SESSION_HANDLER

The correct setting is SESSION_ENGINE. It defines which backend Django uses to save session data.

By default, where does Django store session data?

A In browser local storage

B In the database

C In a file on the server

D In the cache only

By default, Django stores session data in the database using the django.contrib.sessions.backends.db backend.

What cookie name does Django use to track sessions by default?

A django_session

B user_session

C sessid

D sessionid

Django uses the cookie named sessionid to store the session ID.

Which setting controls how long a session cookie lasts before expiring?

A SESSION_COOKIE_AGE

B SESSION_TIMEOUT

C SESSION_EXPIRY

D SESSION_LIFETIME

The SESSION_COOKIE_AGE setting defines the duration in seconds for session cookie expiration.

If you want to store session data in cache instead of the database, which backend should you use?

A django.contrib.sessions.backends.file

B django.contrib.sessions.backends.db

C django.contrib.sessions.backends.cache

D django.contrib.sessions.backends.signed_cookies

To store sessions in cache, use django.contrib.sessions.backends.cache as the session engine.

Explain how Django's session framework works to keep track of user data across requests.

Think about how the browser and server share information to remember a user.

Describe how to change the session storage backend in a Django project and why you might want to do that.

Consider different ways to store session data and their pros and cons.