I can't wait to use this in my web applications. Finally a way to build proper tools in the browser.
The "Origin private file system" that this story links to is just like the infamous IndexDB. Something that the user cannot backup, cannot use in other software and that is only kept around for as long as FireFox feels like.
I've had a couple webapps where I needed to use the FS API (which allows users to provide real, accessible folders to a webapp, unlike OPFS).
I can't understand why anyone would want to use OPFS or what problems it solves that a slim interface over IndexDB wouldn't provide. The only use I've had for it has been a almost-ok substitute for the actual FS API (given its the same interface), but since the goal is to allow users to have easy access to your webapp's data, it has to be paired with a cumbersome import/export feature for browsers that only have OPFS.
I guess it's probably more performant for FS-like queries (like listing the contents of a directory...), but that performance benefit (for me at least) seems secondary to giving users control over the data.
This feels a lot like giving companies a way to store data on my device without me being in control of that data. If your web app is going to store data, I want the power to audit that data, not have the browser go "oh, sorry, can't let you do that, that would hurt someone else's bottom line".
Anything that makes the web platform more powerful is a good thing. The web is a secure, sandboxed platform, but it's also an open platform. Screw Apple and their extortions, develop web apps instead.
Origin private file system
(developer.mozilla.org)53 points by thunderbong 10 hours ago | 25 comments
Comments
Because with it, we can offer users to hold their data natively on their devices. Instead of storing everything in the cloud.
Chrome on the desktop supports it. Here is a demo:
https://googlechromelabs.github.io/text-editor/
A text editor that works just like a native application.
And mobile support is also in the making:
https://issues.chromium.org/issues/40101963
I can't wait to use this in my web applications. Finally a way to build proper tools in the browser.
The "Origin private file system" that this story links to is just like the infamous IndexDB. Something that the user cannot backup, cannot use in other software and that is only kept around for as long as FireFox feels like.
I can't understand why anyone would want to use OPFS or what problems it solves that a slim interface over IndexDB wouldn't provide. The only use I've had for it has been a almost-ok substitute for the actual FS API (given its the same interface), but since the goal is to allow users to have easy access to your webapp's data, it has to be paired with a cumbersome import/export feature for browsers that only have OPFS.
I guess it's probably more performant for FS-like queries (like listing the contents of a directory...), but that performance benefit (for me at least) seems secondary to giving users control over the data.
To me it feels like this is a Google initiative in order to allow more DRM/Ad-Tracking stuff and they're testing the waters.