Indexed Database API

Last updated
IndexedDB
Indexed Database API
AbbreviationIndexedDB
Native name
Indexed Database API
Status First Public Working Draft
Latest version3.0
11 March 2021 [1]
Preview versionEditor's Draft
11 March 2021 [2]
Organization
CommitteeWeb Applications Working Group
Editors
  • Ali Alabbas [1]
  • Joshua Bell [1]
Previous editors
    • Nikunj Mehta
    • Jonas Sicking
    • Eliot Graff
    • Andrei Popescu
    • Jeremy Orlow
Base standards
Related standards
Domain NoSQL databases
Website www.w3.org/TR/IndexedDB/

The Indexed Database API (commonly referred to as IndexedDB) is a JavaScript application programming interface (API) provided by web browsers for managing a NoSQL database of objects. It is a standard maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). [1]

Contents

As an alternative to the Web storage standard, IndexedDB can provide more storage capacity. Web storage has fixed limits per website, but IndexedDB limits are "usually quite large, if they exist at all". [5]

Use cases for IndexedDB include caching web application data for offline availability. [6] Some browser modules, such as devtools or extensions, may also use it for storage.

History

Support for IndexedDB was added to Firefox version 4, [7] Google Chrome version 11, [8] Internet Explorer version 10, [9] Safari version 8, [10] and Microsoft Edge version 12. [11]

Web SQL Database was a prior API developed by Apple. [12] But Firefox refused to add support for it and argued against it becoming a standard because it would codify the quirks of SQLite. [13] [14] It was thus deprecated in favor of IndexedDB. [15]

IndexedDB 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation on January 8, 2015. [16] IndexedDB 2.0 became a W3C Recommendation on January 30, 2018. [17] [3] IndexedDB 3.0 was released as a First Public Working Draft on 11 March 2021 and remains as a Working Draft as of 3 December 2024. [18]

Performance

Because IndexedDB is running inside of the security sandbox of a browser, all operations have to go through various security layers which decreases the performance of IndexedDB. With IndexedDB 2.0 [17] the getAll() method was added which allows to improve performance on bulk read operations.


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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Web Applications Working Group (2021-03-11). Alabbas, Ali; Bell, Joshua (eds.). "Indexed Database API 3.0". W3C. W3C First Public Working Draft. Web Applications Working Group. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  2. ↑ Web Applications Working Group (2021-03-11). Alabbas, Ali; Bell, Joshua (eds.). "Indexed Database API 3.0". W3C. Editor’s Draft. Web Applications Working Group. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  3. 1 2 Web Applications Working Group (2018-01-30). Alabbas, Ali; Bell, Joshua (eds.). "Indexed Database API 2.0". W3C. W3C Recommendation. Web Applications Working Group. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  4. ↑ "Indexed Database API". 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  5. ↑ "Working with IndexedDB". Google Inc. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. ↑ "Using IndexedDB". MDN. Mozilla. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "IndexedDB - MDC Doc Center". Developer.mozilla.org. Archived from the original on 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  8. ↑ "IndexedDB - Chrome Platform Status". IndexedDB - Chrome Platform Status. The Chromium Projects. 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  9. ↑ IndexedDB, MSDN, 2012-03-14, retrieved 2012-05-24
  10. ↑ "OS X Yosemite v10.10 § App Features". Apple Developers. Apple. 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  11. ↑ "IndexedDB". Can I use... n.d. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  12. ↑ Shankland, Stephen (2010-03-12). "Consensus emerges for key Web app standard | Deep Tech - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  13. ↑ O'Callahan, Robert (2010-06-04). "Well, I'm Back: Not Implementing Features Is Hard". Weblogs.mozillazine.org. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  14. ↑ Ranganathan, Arun (2010-06-01). "Beyond HTML5: Database APIs and the Road to IndexedDB – Mozilla Hacks - the Web developer blog". Mozilla Hacks – the Web developer blog. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  15. ↑ "html5 - Why is Web SQL database deprecated?". Software Engineering Stack Exchange.
  16. ↑ Web Applications Working Group (2015-01-08). Mehta, Nikunj; Sicking, Jonas; Graff, Eliot; Popescu, Andrei; Orlow, Jeremy; Bell, Joshua (eds.). "Indexed Database API". W3C. W3C Recommendation. Web Applications Working Group. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  17. 1 2 W3C (2018-01-30). "Indexed Database API 2.0 is now a W3C Recommendation | W3C News". W3C News. Retrieved 2021-05-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ "Indexed Database API 3.0 publication history". W3C. 2024-11-07. Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
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