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Overview
Comment:Flesh out the attribution/related works sections a bit.
Downloads: Tarball | ZIP archive
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SHA3-256: 53782e47e9dfd3b4bc071b460b0f355c316118d5697cf3fa97a4a13f9f02f85b
User & Date: stephan 2022-10-29 08:10:03.131
Context
2022-10-29
08:21
Clarify a statement about sql.js's history by (somewhat ironically) making it a bit more vague, per feedback on HN. check-in: a66e32996d user: stephan tags: trunk
08:10
Flesh out the attribution/related works sections a bit. check-in: 53782e47e9 user: stephan tags: trunk
08:01
Rename sqlite3.capi.wasm namespace to sqlite3.wasm. That causes a small amount of confusion with the _file_ sqlite3.wasm but seems to make more sense and that namespace effectively reflects that file, anyway. check-in: 60d62005dc user: stephan tags: trunk
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# About the sqlite3 WASM/JS Subproject

[WebAssembly][wasm], a.k.a. WASM, is a standard defining a low-level
programming language suitable (A) as a target for cross-compilation
from many other languages and (B) for running via a virtual machine in
a browser. Designed with scriptability via JavaScript in mind, it
provides a way to compile C code (among others) to WASM and script it
via JavaScript with relatively little friction despite the vast
differences between JavaScript and C.

Folks have been building [sqlite3][sqlite.org] for WASM since [as far
back as
2012](https://github.com/kripken/sql.js/commit/cebd80648dbd369b34804c5a00b4d0bddc1cbf05),
but this subproject is the first effort "officially" associated with
the SQLite project, created with the goal of making WASM builds of the
library first-class members of the family of supported SQLite
deliverables.


## Specific Goals of this Project

The concrete goals of this project include...

- Except where noted in the non-goals, provide a more-or-less












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# About the sqlite3 WASM/JS Subproject

[WebAssembly][wasm], a.k.a. WASM, is a standard defining a low-level
programming language suitable (A) as a target for cross-compilation
from many other languages and (B) for running via a virtual machine in
a browser. Designed with scriptability via JavaScript in mind, it
provides a way to compile C code (among others) to WASM and script it
via JavaScript with relatively little friction despite the vast
differences between JavaScript and C.

Folks have been building [sqlite3][sqlite.org] for WASM since [as far


back as 2012][sql.js-first] but this subproject is the first effort
"officially" associated with the SQLite project, created with the goal
of making WASM builds of the library first-class members of the family
of supported SQLite deliverables.


## Specific Goals of this Project

The concrete goals of this project include...

- Except where noted in the non-goals, provide a more-or-less
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Additionally, Emscripten developers directly offered invaluable
support during the development of [the OPFS-based features][opfs].

## sql.js

<https://github.com/sql-js/sql.js>

sql.js was an essential stepping stone in this code's development as
it demonstrates how to handle some of the WASM-related voodoo (like
handling pointers-to-pointers and adding JS implementations of
C-bound callback functions). These APIs have a considerably
different shape than sql.js's, however.




## absurd-sql

<https://github.com/jlongster/absurd-sql>

The aptly-named absurd-sql demonstrates persistent browser-side
sqlite3 by storing the databases in IndexedDB storage. We experimented
with that approach but it's... well, _absurd_ 😉. It's too slow for
anything beyond trivial databases and it's easy to get a database in
an inconsistent state by visiting the page from two tabs.

Even so, it was an interesting experiment.

## wa-sqlite

<https://github.com/rhashimoto/wa-sqlite>

It is likely that wa-sqlite was the first project to provide an OPFS
storage option for sqlite3. It also provides a full demonstration of
how to use the otherwise largely undocumented [OPFS][opfs] APIs.


[wasm]:       https://webassembly.org

[sqlite.org]: https://sqlite.org
[opfs]:       ./persistence.md#opfs








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Additionally, Emscripten developers directly offered invaluable
support during the development of [the OPFS-based features][opfs].

## sql.js

<https://github.com/sql-js/sql.js>

Alon Zakai's `sql.js` was an essential stepping stone in this code's
development as it demonstrates how to handle some of the WASM-related
voodoo (like handling pointers-to-pointers and adding JS
implementations of C-bound callback functions). These APIs have a
considerably different shape than `sql.js`, however.

As far as we're aware, `sql.js` was [the first-ever published use of
sqlite3-via-wasm][sql.js-first].

## absurd-sql

<https://github.com/jlongster/absurd-sql>

James Long's aptly-named `absurd-sql` demonstrates persistent
browser-side sqlite3 by storing the databases in IndexedDB storage. We
experimented with that approach but it's... well, _absurd_ 😉. It's
too slow for anything beyond trivial databases and it's easy to get a
database in an inconsistent state by visiting the page from two tabs.

Even so, it was an interesting experiment.

## wa-sqlite

<https://github.com/rhashimoto/wa-sqlite>

Roy Hashimoto's `wa-sqlite` was the first project to public an OPFS
storage option for sqlite3. It also provides a full demonstration of
how to use the otherwise largely undocumented [OPFS][opfs] APIs.


[wasm]:         https://webassembly.org
[sql.js-first]: https://github.com/kripken/sql.js/commit/cebd80648dbd369b34804c5a00b4d0bddc1cbf05
[sqlite.org]:   https://sqlite.org
[opfs]:         ./persistence.md#opfs
Changes to index.md.
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- [**Building sqlite3 WASM**](./building.md) and its associated JS code.
  - [Emscripten](./emscripten.md) build specifics.
- [**Doc and repository maintenance**](./doc-maintenance.md) covers
  details about maintaining the documentation hosted on this site.

Related Works:

- [postgres-wasm](https://supabase.com/blog/postgres-wasm) runs a

  [Postgres database server](https://www.postgresql.org) in a browser.
- Roy Hashimoto's [wa-sqlite](https://github.com/rhashimoto/wa-sqlite)
  may well be the first implementation of [OPFS storage](./persistence.md)
  of sqlite databases.














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- [**Building sqlite3 WASM**](./building.md) and its associated JS code.
  - [Emscripten](./emscripten.md) build specifics.
- [**Doc and repository maintenance**](./doc-maintenance.md) covers
  details about maintaining the documentation hosted on this site.

Related Works:

- Alon Zakai's [**sql.js**](https://github.com/sql-js/sql.js) is the
  first known usage of sqlite3-via-wasm, [dating back to
  2012](https://github.com/kripken/sql.js/commit/cebd80648dbd369b34804c5a00b4d0bddc1cbf05).
- Roy Hashimoto's [**wa-sqlite**](https://github.com/rhashimoto/wa-sqlite)
  may well be the first implementation of [OPFS storage](./persistence.md)
  of sqlite databases.
- James Long's aptly-named
  [**absurd-js**](https://github.com/jlongster/absurd-sql)
  demonstrates storing sqlite3 databases inside IndexedDB databases
  using.
- [**postgres-wasm**](https://supabase.com/blog/postgres-wasm) runs a
  [Postgres database server](https://www.postgresql.org) in a browser.