Describe the difference between a 'cookie', 'sessionStorage' and 'localStorage'

Cookies, sessionStorage, and localStorage are all client-side storage mechanisms that allow data to be stored directly in the web browser. Each has its own set of characteristics and use cases.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored on the client's browser and sent to the server with every HTTP request. They are primarily used for session management, personalization, and tracking user behavior. Cookies can be set to expire after a certain date (persistent cookies) or when the browser session ends (session cookies). They are limited to about 4KB in size and can be secured with flags such as HttpOnly and Secure to enhance security. Cookies are accessible from both the client-side and server-side[3][4][6].

sessionStorage

sessionStorage is part of the Web Storage API and is designed for storing data within a single session. The data is only available for the duration of the page session and is cleared when the tab or window is closed. It is not sent to the server with HTTP requests and is limited to the same origin. sessionStorage is suitable for storing data that should not persist beyond the current browser session, such as form data or page states. It typically allows for about 5MB of data to be stored[1][2][3][4][5].

localStorage

localStorage is also part of the Web Storage API and is similar to sessionStorage in that it uses key-value pairs for data storage and is limited to the same origin. However, localStorage dat...