Which is Better Web Development Libraries for Offline Capabilities?
sw-toolbox vs sw-precache vs pouchdb-find vs serviceworker-webpack-plugin
1 Year
sw-toolboxsw-precachepouchdb-findserviceworker-webpack-pluginSimilar Packages:
What's Web Development Libraries for Offline Capabilities?

These libraries are designed to enhance web applications by providing offline capabilities and service worker functionalities. They help developers manage caching strategies, data persistence, and background synchronization, ensuring that applications remain functional even without a network connection. Each library serves a unique purpose, catering to different aspects of offline web development, from database querying to service worker management and caching strategies.

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sw-toolbox73,5113,617-568 years agoApache-2.0
sw-precache65,6905,225-587 years agoApache-2.0
pouchdb-find35,92316,785193 kB1444 months agoApache-2.0
serviceworker-webpack-plugin12,63745842.3 kB26-MIT
Feature Comparison: sw-toolbox vs sw-precache vs pouchdb-find vs serviceworker-webpack-plugin

Data Persistence

  • sw-toolbox: SW-Toolbox allows for dynamic caching strategies, enabling applications to cache API responses or other data on the fly. This is beneficial for applications that require up-to-date information while still providing offline access.
  • sw-precache: SW-Precache focuses on pre-caching assets during the service worker installation phase, ensuring that critical resources are available offline. However, it does not manage data persistence beyond caching static assets.
  • pouchdb-find: PouchDB Find offers advanced querying capabilities for data stored in PouchDB, allowing developers to perform complex searches and filtering on the client side. This is particularly useful for applications that need to manage large datasets offline and synchronize them with a server when online.
  • serviceworker-webpack-plugin: This plugin does not directly handle data persistence but facilitates the integration of service workers, which can cache responses and assets, indirectly contributing to data availability when offline.

Caching Strategies

  • sw-toolbox: SW-Toolbox provides a flexible API for defining caching strategies, allowing developers to choose between cache-first, network-first, stale-while-revalidate, and more. This flexibility is essential for applications that require tailored caching behavior based on resource type.
  • sw-precache: SW-Precache uses a cache-first strategy by default, meaning it serves cached content before attempting to fetch it from the network. This is effective for static assets that do not change frequently, ensuring quick load times when offline.
  • pouchdb-find: PouchDB Find does not implement caching strategies as it is primarily focused on querying data. However, it works in conjunction with PouchDB's built-in replication and synchronization features to manage data consistency across devices.
  • serviceworker-webpack-plugin: This plugin simplifies the setup of service workers that can implement various caching strategies, such as cache-first or network-first, depending on how you configure the service worker script.

Ease of Use

  • sw-toolbox: While SW-Toolbox offers powerful features, it may require a deeper understanding of service worker concepts to fully leverage its capabilities. However, once mastered, it provides extensive control over caching behavior.
  • sw-precache: SW-Precache is easy to set up, requiring minimal configuration to get started. It automatically generates a service worker that pre-caches specified resources, making it accessible for developers new to service workers.
  • pouchdb-find: PouchDB Find is designed to be user-friendly for developers familiar with MongoDB-like query syntax. Its API is straightforward, making it easy to implement complex queries without extensive boilerplate code.
  • serviceworker-webpack-plugin: This plugin integrates seamlessly with Webpack, making it easy to add service worker capabilities to your build process. Its configuration is simple, which is beneficial for developers looking to implement service workers without deep knowledge of the underlying API.

Integration with Other Tools

  • sw-toolbox: SW-Toolbox can be integrated into any service worker setup, providing additional caching capabilities. It works well alongside other service worker libraries and can enhance existing service worker implementations.
  • sw-precache: SW-Precache can be easily integrated into any project that uses a service worker, but it is particularly effective in static site generators or projects that do not require dynamic caching.
  • pouchdb-find: PouchDB Find integrates well with PouchDB's replication features, allowing for seamless synchronization with CouchDB. This makes it an excellent choice for applications that require both offline capabilities and server synchronization.
  • serviceworker-webpack-plugin: This plugin is specifically designed for use with Webpack, making it an excellent choice for projects already using Webpack for module bundling. It simplifies the process of managing service workers in a Webpack environment.

Community and Support

  • sw-toolbox: SW-Toolbox has a good level of community support, but as it is more advanced, developers may need to rely on broader service worker resources for complex implementations.
  • sw-precache: SW-Precache is widely used and has a solid base of documentation and community support, making it easier for developers to troubleshoot issues and find best practices.
  • pouchdb-find: PouchDB has a strong community and extensive documentation, making it easier for developers to find support and resources when implementing PouchDB Find for their applications.
  • serviceworker-webpack-plugin: This plugin is well-documented and supported by the Webpack community, ensuring that developers can find help and examples for implementing service workers effectively.
How to Choose: sw-toolbox vs sw-precache vs pouchdb-find vs serviceworker-webpack-plugin
  • sw-toolbox: Choose SW-Toolbox if you require a more flexible and customizable caching strategy for your service worker. It provides a rich set of caching methods and allows for dynamic caching of resources, making it suitable for applications with varying network conditions.
  • sw-precache: Opt for SW-Precache if you need a simple solution for generating a service worker that pre-caches your assets. It's particularly useful for static sites or applications where you want to ensure that specific resources are available offline without much complexity in setup.
  • pouchdb-find: Choose PouchDB Find if you need a client-side database that allows you to perform complex queries on your data stored in PouchDB. It's ideal for applications that require offline data storage and synchronization with CouchDB, providing a powerful querying interface.
  • serviceworker-webpack-plugin: Select ServiceWorker Webpack Plugin if you are using Webpack and want a straightforward way to manage service workers in your build process. It simplifies the integration of service workers into your application, making it easier to handle caching and offline capabilities without extensive configuration.
README for sw-toolbox

Service Worker Toolbox

Build Status Dependency Status devDependencies Status

A collection of tools for service workers

Service Worker Toolbox provides some simple helpers for use in creating your own service workers. Specifically, it provides common caching strategies for dynamic content, such as API calls, third-party resources, and large or infrequently used local resources that you don't want precached.

Service Worker Toolbox provides an expressive approach to using those strategies for runtime requests. If you're not sure what service workers are or what they are for, start with the explainer doc.

What if I need precaching as well?

Then you should go check out sw-precache before doing anything else. In addition to precaching static resources, sw-precache supports optional runtime caching through a simple, declarative configuration that incorporates Service Worker Toolbox under the hood.

Install

Service Worker Toolbox is available through Bower, npm or direct from GitHub:

bower install --save sw-toolbox

npm install --save sw-toolbox

git clone https://github.com/GoogleChrome/sw-toolbox.git

Register your service worker

From your registering page, register your service worker in the normal way. For example:

navigator.serviceWorker.register('my-service-worker.js');

As implemented in Chrome 40 or later, a service worker must exist at the root of the scope that you intend it to control, or higher. So if you want all of the pages under /myapp/ to be controlled by the worker, the worker script itself must be served from either / or /myapp/. The default scope is the containing path of the service worker script.

For even lower friction, you can instead include the Service Worker Toolbox companion script in your HTML as shown below. Be aware that this is not customizable. If you need to do anything fancier than register with a default scope, you'll need to use the standard registration.

<script src="/path/to/sw-toolbox/companion.js" data-service-worker="my-service-worker.js"></script>

Add Service Worker Toolbox to your service worker script

In your service worker you just need to use importScripts to load Service Worker Toolbox:

importScripts('bower_components/sw-toolbox/sw-toolbox.js');  // Update path to match your own setup.

Use the toolbox

To understand how to use the toolbox read the Usage and API documentation.

Support

If you’ve found an error in this library, please file an issue at https://github.com/GoogleChrome/sw-toolbox/issues.

Patches are encouraged, and may be submitted by forking this project and submitting a pull request through this GitHub repo.

License

Copyright 2015-2016 Google, Inc.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.