imclab / url4data

get a URL for the given data

url4data

Get a URL for the given data

Usage:

var url4data = require('url4data');

url4data('hello world', 'name', {type: 'text/plain', scheme: ['filesystem', 'blob', 'data']}, function(url) {
    console.log(url);
});

The scheme option can be used to choose the URL scheme, either a single value or an array of schemes to try in order (returning first supported by the browser, so you can fallback to alternative schemes if necessary). See demo.js for more examples.

Supported schemes

filesystem: from the HTML5 FileSystem API, supported by Chrome. These URLs are predictable and semi-persistent. url4data uses the "temporary" not "persistent" filesystem storage, but the URL persists across page reloads (although it can be deleted by the browser at any time).

blob: from the HTML5 File API, supported by most modern browsers. Not predictable (random GUID), but url4data stores the generated URLs in localStorage in an attempt at providing consistency across multiple invocations. Blob URLs might expire on page load or otherwise fairly frequently.

data: URLs are widely supported, but cannot be used everywhere filesystem: and blob: URLs can be used. They encode the data directly within the URL itself.

Why?

Useful, for example, for SharedWorkers which require the same URL to access the same shared worker across multiple browser tabs.

License

MIT