Java web application storing large objects available best options

Question

Java - spring - webapplication

I have a web application which has wizard based processes to create complex entity and, there are atleast 10 screens to complete one process but problem is at any step between 1 to 10 user can come out without completeting the process and we want to store that data so that when user want to resume process it should be able to do, there are multiple tables involved in this process.

I am worried about saving data into database on every wizard step cuz after some time data will become clustered and orphan into the database and it will become garbage.

I wana discuss the solution with you guys, please advise.

Answer 1

You could serialize the data to XML or JSON and store it somewhere on the DB temporarily. This would avoid dealing with multiple tables. You can use a timeout and remove those entries after a while (some days maybe). Once completed do the real save and remove the temp data on success.

Answer 2

after some time data will become clustered and orphan into the database

eh ?

Delete the temporary/incomplete data when the user has successfully completed the process.