#title# - What Framework

Application vs Session Data

Application Counter

Shared by all users. Open this page in another browser to see it sync.

0


          data.application = ["app_counter"]

Session Counter

Unique to your session. Other users have their own counter.

#data.session.counter#


          data.session = ["counter"]

Configuration (application.what)


      // Expose application data (shared)

      data.application = ["app_counter"]


      // Expose session data (per-user)

      data.session = ["counter"]

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.


    <div w-persist="audio-player">

      <audio src="music.mp3"></audio>

    </div>

Navigation State

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


    <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. Each visitor gets a unique 128-character session ID stored in SQLite.

Your Session ID:

#session.id#

128-character cryptographically secure session ID
HttpOnly, SameSite=Strict cookies (XSS/CSRF protection)
Automatic session creation on first visit
Sessions stored in SQLite for persistence
Configurable expiration (default: 7 days)


    <!-- Access session data in templates -->

    Session ID: #session.id#

    Created: #session.created_at#



    <!-- 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

State Management