I just released PersistJS, a client-side JavaScript persistent storage library. Features include:
If you already know why this is awesome, then you can skip straight to the download. If you're scratching your head, then read on... Why This is AwesomeWhy use PersistJS? What's the problem with using cookies directly or simply requiring Flash? Currently the only reliable cross-platform and cross-browser mechanism for storing data on the client side are cookies. Unfortunately, using cookies to store persistent data has several problems:
Modern web browsers have addressed these issues by adding non-Cookie mechanisms for saving client-side persistent data. Each of these solutions are simpler to use than cookies, can store far more data, and are not transmitted along with HTTP requests. Unfortunately, each browser has addressed the problem in a different and incompatible way. There are currently 4 different client side persistent data solutions:
Some developers have attempted to address the client side storage issue with the following browser plugins:
The problem with relying on plugins, of course, is that users without the plugin installed miss out on the feature in question, and your application is dependent on software from a particular vendor. Google Gears, for example, is not widely deployed. Flash is, but it has problems of its own:
Anyway, if we include Gears and Flash, that means there are no less than 6 incompatible solutions for storing client-side persistent data. The most notable attempt at addressing this problem is probably Dojo Storage. Unfortunately, Dojo Storage does not support Internet Explorer without Flash, and it does not support Safari or other WebKit-based browsers at all (at least, not without Flash). Also, Dojo Storage is not standalone; it requires a several other Dojo components in order to operate. PersistJS addresses all of the issues above. It currently supports persistent client-side storage through the following backends:
Each backend exploses the exact same interface, which means you don't have to know or care which backend is being used. ExamplesHere are some simple examples of PersistJS in use:
That's all there is to creating a persistent store and adding some data to it. Fetching data back from the store uses a callback function (to support asyncronous backends), but it's still pretty simple to use:
Removing data is pretty easy too:
Although it isn't necessary, you can also get some information about the detected backend using the
Finally, if you don't want a particular backend used under any circumstances, you can disable it using the
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