State Management - What Framework?

Application vs Session Data

Application data is shared by all users, while session data is unique to each visitor.

Application Counter

Shared by all users

0

Session Counter

Unique to your session

0

// In application.what
// Expose application data (shared)
data.application = ["app_counter"]

// Expose session data (per-user)
data.session = ["counter"]

// In templates
0
0

SPA Navigation

Links are intercepted for single-page app navigation. Pages are cached for instant back/forward navigation.

Click any link for AJAX-powered navigation
Browser back/forward buttons work normally
Pages cached for 5 minutes by default
Loading state shown during navigation

// Clear the page cache
What.clearCache();

// Navigate programmatically
What.navigateTo('/other-page');

Element Persistence

Use w-persist to keep elements across page navigations. Useful for audio players, sidebars, or other persistent UI.

Elements with w-persist are preserved when navigating between pages. The element's state (including audio/video playback position) is maintained.

<div w-persist="audio-player">
  <audio src="music.mp3"></audio>
</div>

<!-- Sidebar that stays visible -->
<aside w-persist="sidebar">
  Navigation content...
</aside>

Navigation State

Use data-active on navigation containers to automatically highlight the current page link.

Links automatically receive an active class when they match the current URL.

<nav data-active="home">
  <a href="/" data-page="home">Home</a>
  <a href="/about" data-page="about">About</a>
</nav>

Form Handling

Forms can be submitted via AJAX with partial page updates, or use traditional full-page navigation.

w-target="selector" - Update specific element with response
w-reset - Reset form after successful submission
w-confirm="message" - Show confirmation before submit

<form action="/api/data" w-target="#results" w-reset>
  <input name="query">
  <button type="submit">Search</button>
</form>

<div id="results"></div>

Session Management

What provides automatic session management with secure cookie-based session IDs.

Your Session ID:

ad81ee87580355bcd8d08c203a887ae3d04c650d6d30d395b8240e2a2da34181fabb74137c8c8a0aff72778cf64ba609dd5ff10c677231e2ca6c89a222e60c2e

128-char secure session ID
HttpOnly, SameSite=Strict cookies
SQLite storage for persistence
Configurable expiration (default: 7 days)

<!-- Access session data in templates -->
Session ID: ad81ee87580355bcd8d08c203a887ae3d04c650d6d30d395b8240e2a2da34181fabb74137c8c8a0aff72778cf64ba609dd5ff10c677231e2ca6c89a222e60c2e
Created: 2026-02-04T18:29:54.360601381+00:00

<!-- Configure in wwwhat.toml -->
[session]
enabled = true
cookie_name = "w_session"
max_age = 604800  # 7 days
secure = false    # true in production

Server-Side State

Most state lives on the server in the DataStore. Templates render with the current state on each request.

Data stored in JSON files
Available in templates via #collection.field#
CRUD operations via w-action endpoints
Server-side caching for performance

<!-- Display data from collections -->
<loop data="#posts#" as="post">
  <h2>#post.title#</h2>
  <p>#post.content#</p>
</loop>

<!-- CRUD operations -->
<form action="/w-action/posts?w-action=create">
  ...
</form>