OFFLINE PAGES PRO REVIEW HTML5 OFFLINE
The good news is that the latest versions of the mobile web browsers support offline applications along with some very early releases of many desktop browsers.
Browser SupportĪs with any new web technology, the question of browser support is often a determining factor for widespread use by web developers. Pages loaded into the application cache are served from the cache whether or not a connection to the Internet is available. When connected to the web, the manifest is checked for updates and any new versions of the application’s files are downloaded in the background for the next visit to the page.
In order to keep the application packaged and versioned correctly, a file called the application manifest maintains a master list of files in the application. When a request for a file from the application is initiated, instead of requesting the file from the web server, the file is served from the application cache. What Is the Application Cache?Īs stated above, an offline application is a packaged group of web pages, style sheets and/or scripts files that are saved on the user’s machine in the application cache. The example in this article uses the Application Cache and Web Storage APIs together to build an application that works offline to store user information and automatically synchronize with the server when available. HTML Web Storage is able to store relatively large amounts of information on the client giving you the ability to save data locally and synchronize with the server as a connection to the web becomes available. Offline web applications are available through the new HTML Offline Web Application API, also known as HTML Application Cache.īeyond simply serving pages to the user when an Internet connection is unavailable, often an offline application requires storage of user’s information.
An offline application is a packaged group of web pages, style sheets, and/or scripts files that are reliably available to the client whether or not a web connection is present. The availability is possible by the new HTML Offline Web Application API ( ), also known as HTML Application Cache. For instance, Figure 1 demonstrates the type of response you may encounter while trying to view while working without an Internet connection.įigure 1: Undesireable results often occur when a user attepts to load a web page when a connection to the Internet is not available.įortunately “offline web applications” continue to work for users regardless of Internet connection status to the client. With the increasing popularity of mobile devices along with countless hours at Starbucks and on airplanes, users may often find themselves in a position of wanting to use web content while not being able to enjoy reliable and continual access to the Internet.Ī website that is not configured to operate in a disconnected state is unavailable in any form if an Internet connection is not available. The modern web ecosystem is made up of many different types of scenarios of how users interact with online content.