StrongLoop, the leading provider of solutions for Node.js, today announced support for replication and offline synchronization in its LoopBack API framework. Loopback is an open source API framework written in Node.js used to connect devices to enterprise datasources. This new functionality is available for Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL and any LoopBack connector which supports create, read, update, delete (CRUD) operations.
Enterprise mobile apps require offline sync capabilities
The ability to work offline has emerged as a requirement for almost all enterprise mobile applications that are data-driven. Up until now, developers first had to figure out how to locally store a subset of the application’s data. Second, they had to implement a mechanism that could keep the data synchronized on both the client and server. The previous generation of synchronization and replication technologies that tried to address these challenges were low level and inflexible, with little variety of data sources they supported. Fine grained controls on the behavior for common use cases like change detection and conflict resolution were also lacking.
Replication and offline support in the Loopback API framework
Today, StrongLoop is happy to announce that it has developed data synchronization and replication capabilities within the LoopBack API framework that are isomorphic in design. This means that for the first time developers can easily synchronize to and from various databases without requiring constant network connectivity. LoopBack’s replication also handles the complexity of moving data between devices, device to server and server to server. This means developers can focus on the the front end versus the mechanics of how to replicate data between disparate databases, like Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB and MySQL, whether they be in cloud or in the datacenter.
“Our customers have been telling us that one of the biggest technical challenges they face is exposing APIs to connect to legacy datasources and giving developers an easy way to deliver offline sync in their apps,” said Issac Roth, StrongLoop CEO. “With replication and offline sync now baked into the LoopBack API framework, developers get both both benefits from the same toolset.”
Additional use cases for LoopBack’s replication capabilities
● In the browser, developers can attach to a local storage database and then synchronize it with the server when it regains connectivity.
● In a “turn” based multiplayer game, the synchronization of game objects can be performed with an in-memory database on the server and client.
● In an enterprise application, you can synchronize an Oracle and MongoDB database, allowing you to leverage the performance characteristics of MongoDB, while defaulting to Oracle for persistence.
● Data can be replicated from a less performant database into a datastore with better read performance, such as Redis.
Pricing and availability
The offline sync capabilities of the LoopBack API framework are generally available. To learn more, visit the Loopback product page or download the framework from npm. Visit the subscriptions page for information about pricing and support for LoopBack.
