News 

One of those features is client-side database storage, a method by which web applications can store structured data on the user's machine, much like they currently store small amounts of information in cookies. The WebKit team has developed both an implementation in both the standalone WebKit browser and an API for enabling websites to create and store data in client-side databases.

This initial implementation does lack some things that are in the

ADVERTISEMENT

HTML 5 specification and a few known bug, but the WebKit team explains that "it does the basics and the best way to discover what needs work is to get it out there for people to start using it".

Details can be found in the Surfin' Safari blog, which links to a working example. The WebKit browser is standalone software for testing the latest builds of WebKit and Safari. It can be safely installed and used alongside Safari, is updated daily and can be downloaded from nightly.webkit.org. It also includes a Leopardised version of the Web Inspector.

The HTML 5 working group was established in March and is expected to submit its final recommendation in the third quarter of 2010. Apple joined the working group later that month.