lum.safe64-data.js

A pure-JS implementation of my Safe64-Data serialisation format.

Concept

It's pretty simple, it takes regular data serialisation formats (like JSON), wraps them in a URL-safe Base64 encoded string, and adds a compact header that tells the decoder how to decode the data.

History

The Safe64-Data format (aka Data64) originated with my Lum.php collection, as a set of methods in the URL helper plugin. That early implementation was later reborn as a flexible set of classes in the lum/lum-encode PHP package.

A JS port was written for Lum.js, and then spun off into @lumjs/encode. I later decided that it was too specialised for that package, and split it off into this package.

Future

The biggest use for this format was to create tiny data structures that could be used in URLs. It works fairly well for that and is great for quick prototyping or working with data structures that may have highly variable schemata.

In cases where there is a well-defined schema, I think using protobufs serialised into URL-safe Base64 is likely a better option, and is what I think I'll end up moving to for many of my uses. Even when a schema-less design is desired, I think there are also cases where app-specific formats make more sense than a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

So while I am not retiring this package (or the data format itself) at this point, I think it's safe to say that no further features are planned. Any updates in the future will likely just be for bug fixes.

I'm also planning to split the PHP implementation into its own package, and updating it with many of the enhancements and architectural changes that this JS package has introduced (particularly in its 2.0 release).

Official URLs

This library can be found in two places:

• Github
• NPM

Author

Timothy Totten [email protected]

License

MIT