offline/local browser application with database but without a server behind it

Question

I want to make a 'application' that operates through a browser. It should be offline / local on the users machine. It needs a database to store and retrieve data. And - because it should be really easy to use - it should run without a server.

The only thing I found so far is the Google Gears API: http://code.google.com/apis/gears/ but I don't really know if it's ideal for my purposes, because the database will contain quite some data and it should be easy to backup.

Any ideas, suggestions?

Thanks!

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gears_(software)

Google Gears is discontinued.

I would suggest read about HTML local database/storage options. You might save data locally and sync when there is a connection.

I would be very specific in the interface about whether everything is stored or you are waiting for connection because losing data is a major issue for your users.

Permanent storage on the local machine with a web application is not a generally accepted practice and could generate serious issues.