A Structured Approach to Chat History

Abstract

This paper examines the benefits of adopting a structured format for storing conversation data. Utilizing sender identifiers and timestamps for each message offers several advantages in terms of clarity, ordering, flexibility, and rendering capabilities.

Even if the conversation is just between the user and the companion, structuring each message with a sender identifier and a timestamp offers several benefits:

Clear Attribution

Even in a two-party conversation, it helps to clearly mark which messages come from the user and which come from the companion. This makes the chat history easier to understand and display in the UI.

Chronological Ordering

A timestamp ensures that messages are displayed in the correct order. If messages are stored in an array, I can sort or render them based on their timestamp, which is especially useful if messages are sent rapidly or asynchronously.

Enhanced Flexibility

With each message stored as an object (e.g., { sender, timestamp, text }), I have the flexibility to add more metadata in the future (like message status, read receipts, etc.) without changing the entire data structure.

Better Rendering on the Front End

Storing messages as an array of structured objects (rather than one large string) allows me to render each message individually. This approach is similar to how ChatGPT or many chat applications maintain conversation history. I can easily style messages differently based on the sender or display the time each message was sent.

For example, instead of storing the entire conversation as a single string, I'd store it like this:

chatHistory: [
  { sender: 'companion', timestamp: '2025-03-01T10:05:00Z', text: 'Hello! How can I assist you today?' },
  { sender: 'user', timestamp: '2025-03-01T10:05:30Z', text: 'I need help with the project scope.' },
  // More messages...
]