October 15th, 2024

LocalStorage vs. IndexedDB vs. Cookies vs. OPFS vs. WASM-SQLite

The article compares web storage technologies like LocalStorage, IndexedDB, Cookies, OPFS, and WASM-SQLite, emphasizing their features, limitations, and suitability for modern web applications, particularly highlighting IndexedDB and WASM-SQLite.

Read original articleLink Icon
LocalStorage vs. IndexedDB vs. Cookies vs. OPFS vs. WASM-SQLite

The article discusses various web storage technologies, including LocalStorage, IndexedDB, Cookies, OPFS, and WASM-SQLite, highlighting their features, limitations, and use cases for modern web applications. It notes the evolution of web applications from static HTML to complex, client-side operations that require efficient data storage solutions. Cookies, introduced in 1994, are suitable for small key-value data but have limitations in size and performance. LocalStorage, established in 2009, offers a simple API for key-value pairs but is limited to 5MB and is synchronous, potentially blocking the UI. IndexedDB, introduced in 2015, supports larger structured data and asynchronous operations, making it more suitable for complex applications. OPFS allows for binary data storage in a simulated file system, while WASM-SQLite enables high-performance database operations in the browser. The article emphasizes the importance of features like JSON support, multi-tab synchronization, indexing, and WebWorker support in choosing the right storage solution for web applications. It concludes that while each technology has its strengths and weaknesses, IndexedDB and WASM-SQLite are particularly powerful for handling complex data operations efficiently.

- Various web storage technologies are compared for their features and limitations.

- IndexedDB and WASM-SQLite are highlighted as strong options for complex data operations.

- LocalStorage and Cookies are limited in size and performance.

- OPFS is designed for binary data storage but is complex for general use.

- Multi-tab support and asynchronous operations are crucial for modern web applications.

Link Icon 3 comments
By @beardyw - 1 day
Seems to omit the ability of a service worker to create and cache files. Not really valid as a database, which this article understandably focuses on. But it is another way to maintain files between sessions and offers the ability to access them by url as if they were on the same server. I have used it to load a zip file in the service worker and then serve the contents as if it were a file system on the server.
By @micahdeath - 1 day
wow... the links on this page are blurry until you select them? (The note info pain in the middle has 2 links and are blurry on my screen.)