JSF supports different data scopes like the session scope to store data in the user session and the request scope to keep data for the lifespan of one request. Of course the goal should always be to keep the data in the most narrow scope possible because this approach will save server resources.
An interesting JSF scope is the flash scope. The flash scope expands the request scope to survive redirects. Redirects are an important part of the PRG-pattern which is commonly used in JSF applications. (for details on the PRG-pattern please see this post-redirect-get-and-jsf-20 blog post for details)
One problem I have encountered recently using the flash scope is that data is lost on a browser refresh and on a browser back. Some developers approach this problem by telling the users not to use this browser functionality (i.e. by java script checks) but in my opinion an application should support this basic functionality. Fortunately there is a suprisingly easy solution to this problem: By invoking the code:
FacesContext.getCurrentInstance().getExternalContext().getFlash().keep("context");
JSF is instructed to keep the flash data (in this example the variable "context") even when the user hits F5 (refresh) or navigates back to a previous page with the browser's navigation buttons.
