Stateful protocols require the receiver to maintain a session state of previous requests. Each request is interpreted with reference to prior requests' session state.
What is Stateless?
Stateless protocols do not require the receiver to maintain a session state of previous requests. Each request can be interpreted without reference to prior requests' session state.
Comparison based on Response mechanism
In stateful, client sends a request to a server, and if no response is received, request is resent. In stateless, client sends a request to a server, and server responds based on its state.
Comparison based on Design Complexity
In stateful, status information must be stored, making server design heavy and complex, whereas in stateless, server design is simple.
Comparison based on Dependency
In stateful, server and client are tightly coupled, as in extremely dependent on each other, whereas, in stateless, server and client are more independent and hence, loosely coupled.
Comparison based on Transaction Handling
With the stateful protocol, transactions are handled relatively slowly, but with the stateless protocol, they are handled relatively faster.
Comparison based on Requirement of Server
Stateful protocols require the server to store information regarding session status and details, while stateless protocols do not require a server for data storage.
Comparison based on Implementation
The implementation of stateful protocols is logically challenging, whereas the implementation of stateless protocols is relatively straightforward.
Check out detailed comparison of Stateful Vs Stateless with pros and cons.