a system and method of automatic session resource clean - up resulting from a client - server session wherein the client has requested use of server resources during the session . during each session , a list of the resources allocated to that session and associated with the client is maintained and , when the session terminates , either naturally or unnaturally , the allocated resources are released or freed up , allowing later use of the same resources by a different session , either with the same client or with a different client . a session may terminate naturally because a program which is using the resource has completed its operation and ended normally . a session may also terminate unnaturally , e . g ., because the connection between the client and the server has been broken for some reason or because a program has aborted or become hung in an inoperative state . because such unnatural terminations do not normally provide a farewell message from the client to the server — only silence , from the lack of further processing messages — there is no way for the server to release the resource and no naturally occurring message to the server that the client is not present . the present invention overcomes these disadvantages by determining when a session has ended and releasing the resources associated with the client .