Evaluate alternative datastore for embedded js-ipfs

[lidel]

Background

• js-ipfs embedded in Brave (Embedded JS-IPFS in Brave (experiment) #716) stores data in datastore-level (js-ipfs-repo/src/default-options-browser.js#L7-L10), which afaik uses level-js backed by IndexedDB on extension's background page.
  • This is exactly the same datastore as in js-ipfs embedded on a regular webpage
• Both Firefox and Chromium provide browser.storage.local to WebExtensions
  • API is asynchronous with bulk read and write operations (batching)
  • ipfs-companion already asks for unlimitedStorage permission, so there won't be any action required from the user
• WebExtension-specific datastore may produce better performance (or not, its backed by IndexedDB in Firefox.. needs benchmarking)

Candidates

• datastore-level - (current) leveldb wrapper on top of IndexedDB
• datastore-<idb-batch> - new datastore on top of IndexedDB with batching
• datastore-<webext-storage> - new datastore created on top of chrome.storage API

Out of scope:

• chrome.fileSystem – With this API, Chrome Apps can read and write to a user-selected location, but it prompts user to pick directory/file, which makes it not feasible here.

TODO

• benchmark
  • create simple WebExtension that
  • opens tabs with embedded js-ipfs, each configured with different datastore
    • caveat: batching (bulk writes) may produce the biggest gains, so make sure both versions either batch or not when testing.
  • runs ipfs.add / ipfs.cat on files 1k 100k 1M/10/50/100MB
• make the decision

References

• https://github.com/ipfs/js-ipfs-repo/blob/v0.28.0/src/default-options-browser.js#L7-L10
• https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API/storage
  • https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2018/08/03/new-backend-for-storage-local-api/
• https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/storage / https://developer.chrome.com/apps/storage (looks like the same API..)

[lidel]

No longer relevant, js-ipfs was sunset, and 5 years later we have other toys, like https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/File_System_API/Origin_private_file_system
Modern Helia and its datastores will be tracked in #1284