Web SQL Database API

As you saw in the previous recipes of this chapter, the Session and Local Storage APIs allow for the storage of simple data in the client browser. If you want to store more complex objects, properties, and relationships, you will need to leverage the new Web SQL Database API or IndexedDB API. Like other APIs, these are not part of HTML5 core specification but a set of additional specifications being adopted by browsers. In general, the Web SQL Database API is currently supported by several browsers, while the IndexedDB API is still being defined and has limited support. Over time, it is expected that the IndexedDB will be more widely supported, but we will focus on the Web SQL Database API in this chapter for demonstration.

If you have had the opportunity to work on server-side pages and database access, most likely you have used a similar SQL-based database. And if not, then here is your opportunity to have a powerful data management storage system right in the browser. Table 11.4 shows the browser support for the Web SQL Database API.