In the evolving panorama of contemporary web application development, a technology that has particularly caught attention is Microsoft’s Blazor WebAssembly. This powerful tool allows for a transformative approach to managing and interacting with client-side data, offering innovative capabilities that are shaping the future of web applications.
Understanding Blazor WebAssembly
Blazor WebAssembly is a client-side web framework from Microsoft. It allows developers to build interactive web applications using C# instead of JavaScript. As the name suggests, it uses WebAssembly, a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine, providing developers with the ability to run client-side web applications directly in the browser using .NET.
The Power of SQLite
SQLite, on the other hand, is a software library that provides a relational database management system (RDBMS). It operates directly on disk files without the need for a separate server process, making it ideal for applications that need local storage. It’s compact, requires zero-configuration, and supports most of the SQL standard, making it an excellent choice for client-side data storage and manipulation.
Combining Blazor WebAssembly with SQLite
By combining these two technologies, you can unlock the full potential of client-side data handling. Here’s how:
Self-Contained and Cross-Platform Development
Both Blazor WebAssembly and SQLite are self-contained systems, requiring no external dependencies. They also both provide excellent cross-platform support. This makes your applications highly portable and reduces the complexity of the development environment.
Offline Availability
SQLite enables the storage of data directly in the client’s browser, allowing your Blazor applications to work offline. Changes made offline can be synced with the server database once the application goes back online, providing a seamless user experience.
Superior Performance
Blazor WebAssembly runs directly in the browser, offering near-native performance. SQLite, being a lightweight yet powerful database, reads and writes directly to ordinary disk files, providing high-speed data access. This combination ensures your application runs quickly and smoothly.
Full .NET Support and Shared Codebase
With Blazor, you can use .NET for both client and server-side code, enabling code sharing and eliminating the need to switch between languages. Coupled with SQLite, developers can use Entity Framework Core to interact with the database, maintaining a consistent, .NET-centric development experience.
Where does the magic happens?
The functionality of SQLite with WebAssembly may vary based on your target framework. If you’re utilizing .NET 6 and Microsoft.Data.SQLite 6, your code will reference SQLitePCLRaw.bundle_e_sqlite3 version 2.0.6. This bundle doesn’t include the native SQLite reference, as demonstrated in the following image
This implies that you’ll need to rely on .NET 6’s native dependencies to include your custom version of lib.e_sqlite3, compiled specifically for WebAssembly. For more detailed information about native dependencies, please refer to the provided links.
https://github.com/egarim/XpoNet6WasmSqlite
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/blazor/webassembly-native-dependencies?view=aspnetcore-6.0
If you’re using .NET 7 or later, your reference from Microsoft.Data.SQLite will depend on SQLitePCLRaw.bundle_e_sqlite3 version 2.1.5. This bundle provides several targets for the native SQLite library (e_sqlite3), as can see in the accompanying image.
This indicates that we can utilize SQLite on any platform supported by .NET, provided that we supply the native reference for SQLite.
Conclusion
Blazor WebAssembly and SQLite together offer a compelling option for developers looking to leverage the power of client-side data. Their combination enables the development of web applications with high performance, offline availability, and a unified language platform.
This potent mix empowers developers to rethink what’s possible with web application development, pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve with client-side data storage and manipulation. In a world where user experience is paramount, the coupling of these technologies truly helps in unleashing the full potential of client-side data.