Session_End not working?

[kleptos]

Does the Session_End event fire when a browser is closed? I am using Session_Start and Session_End to add and subtract from a counter. When a session starts it works fine. When a user closes the browser, the subtraction doesnt work. I am using the global.asax file to increment and decrement the count. Just that the End doesnt work. Any ideas?

[Lethal]

Session events (especially Session_OnEnd) have been known to be very flaky..

[kleptos]

Thats what i was afraid of. Thanks!

[Musician]

Flaky is a bit general. A session depends on a timeout value specified in the web.config or IIS. I think it defaults to 20 minutes. So the session will end 20 minutes after the user logs in/opens the browser regardless of when they close it.
This is web server based technology we are talking about. I don't know any web server technology that can tell when a user closes their browser.

[Lethal]

Originally posted by Musician
Flaky is a bit general.

There are countless articles that say do not depend on the Session_OnEnd() event firing consistently.

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/articles/20030416.asp

http://www.mail-archive.com/bdotnet@.../msg02003.html

etc..

[Musician]

I'm not disputing the unrealiability of session_onend. It's just important to be clear on why this is the case. Because of the nature of a session itself not due to any flaky design in the implementation of an event.

[Lethal]

I agree, because HTTP is a stateless protocol, the web server has no way of detecting when a user leaves a Web site. So, when a certain period of time has elapsed without the user requesting a page, the session data is removed and the session is killed. This is all nice an dandy, but when I say 'flaky', I am refering to the Session_End() event not *always* firing. There are numerous articles explaining workarounds because of this.

[hellswraith]

Ya, I read those links about the session_end not working. I haven't tried to use it yet, but was looking into it to show who is currently browsing my forums. After seeing the default timeout, there is no way to accurately tell if the user is gone or not. I could adjust the timeout of the session, but it will affect other parts.

Any suggestions on how to do this? Basically the same functionality that is on these forums to show who is browsing what forums.

[Lethal]

Hellswraith,
I'll shoot you the code I use in my forums. What email do you want me to send it 2.

[Cander]

It is not that Session onend in flaky. The fact is, a web browser doesnt send a signal back to the server when it is closed. A server has no way of knowing you closed your browser.

[Musician]

I would imagine a non-persistent cookie is the way to go for what you want to do.

[Lethal]

Originally posted by Cander
It is not that Session onend in flaky. The fact is, a web browser doesnt send a signal back to the server when it is closed. A server has no way of knowing you closed your browser.

Agreed, thats what I said in my second post to clear things up.