45 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
45 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Sessions on PCs and Macs"
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date: 2009-02-09T00:00:00+00:00
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draft: false
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canonical_url: https://www.viget.com/articles/sessions-on-pcs-and-macs/
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---
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When switching from Windows to a Mac, one thing that takes some getting
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used to is the difference between closing and quitting a program. On the
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Mac, as one [Mac-Forums poster puts
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it](http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/switcher-hangout/99903-does-pushing-red-gel-button-really-close-application.html),
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"To put it simply...you *close* windows. You *quit* applications."
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Windows draws [no such
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distinction](http://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/07/03.6.shtml#435860)
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--- the application ends when its last window is closed. This may not
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seem like much of a difference, but it has serious potential
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ramifications when dealing with browsers and sessions; to quote the
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[Ruby on Rails
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wiki](http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/HowtoChangeSessionOptions):
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> You can control when the current session will expire by setting the
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> :session_expires value with a Time object. **If not set, the session
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> will terminate when the user's browser is closed.**
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In other words, if you use the session to persist information like login
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state, the user experience for an out-of-the-box Rails app is
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dramatically different depending on what operating system is used to
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access it (all IE jokes aside). I probably quit my browser three times a
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week, whereas I close all browser windows closer to three times an hour.
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Were I running Windows, this might not be an option.
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On my two most recent projects, I've used Adam Salter's [Sliding
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Sessions
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plugin](https://github.com/adamsalter/sliding_sessions/tree/master),
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which allows me to easily set the duration of the session during every
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request. This way, I can set the session to expire two weeks after the
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last request, independent of browser activity --- a much saner default
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setup, in my opinion.
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It's well-known that Mac users are [vastly over-represented among web
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developers](http://www.webdirections.org/the-state-of-the-web-2008/browsers-and-operating-systems/#operating-systems),
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so I think there's a distinct possibility that a silent majority of
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users are receiving a sub-optimal user experience in many Rails
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apps --- and nobody really seems concerned.
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