Airplane mode, long commutes, limits on data plans: they all belie the notion of devices with continuous, uninterrupted Internet connections. Yet many applications assume a permanent connection when delivering content to the user. When the Internet isn't reachable, an app will often simply notify the user of network issues, and then refuse to function until the connection is restored.
KitaroDB helps solve the problem by making it easy for developers to guarantee a consistent user experience. A light-weight, efficient, and extremely fast NoSQL database, KitaroDB lets app developers store cloud data in a palatable form, keeping it locally on the devices for later access when network connections might not be available.
Historically, application developers who worried about the "offline user experience" were often forced to implement time-consuming workarounds. Reformatting cloud data (from a web service, for instance) into rigid data structures and then pushing it into local relational databases was only the first step. Developers then had to contend with the problem of what to do next: either reverse the process and reassemble the data in a format that the application expected, or design a whole new set of procedures for dealing with the reconfigured data.
With KitaroDB, app developers can use a consistent API across multiple platforms, and quickly store the data with little or no modification to the original format. The result can be a significant increase in application usability with minimal effort.
KitaroDB supports key/value and intrusive key data stores, providing developers with the flexibility to pick the best data solution for each area of their application.
At the core of KitaroDB is the enterprise-class, B-tree Synergy DBMS database. Cross-platform and in continuous commercial use for more than 25 years, this database is developed and enhanced by KitaroDB's creator, Synergex International Corporation.
"What's amazing is that the same database engine that you use on the server actually fits comfortably onto a phone or tablet, and it's still lightning-fast and durable," says Tod Phillips, KitaroDB Product Manager. "Technically, the latest version [of KitaroDB] can handle records up to 2 gigabytes in length, and files up to 256 terabytes. But that's way too much for today's mobile apps and devices, and data sizes like that would only be used by the Kitaro server product. It's just cool to know the potential is there, in your hand, even if you'll never use all of it."
The KitaroDB SDKs are free for Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, and Win32/.NET, and can be downloaded from Microsoft's Visual Studio Gallery or directly from the KitaroDB website at www.kitarodb.com. A subscription-based server version is also available.