What's New – Mobile

Announcing Couchbase Mobile 2.1

Couchbase Mobile extends the Couchbase Data Platform to the edge, securely managing and syncing data from any cloud to every mobile device. Build better and more responsive customer experiences across all mobile touchpoints and fully empower field teams with guaranteed data availability and millisecond response times, irrespective of network connectivity. Couchbase Mobile features an embedded database with SQL and full-text search for JSON, built-in synchronization, and end-to-end security from cloud to edge.

Key new features in 2.1

Peer-to-peer sync

Couchbase Mobile 2.1 makes it easier to build responsive applications that are always accessible, regardless of network availability, by syncing data directly between Couchbase Lite instances over any IP or non-IP based transport such as Bluetooth (regular and low energy), near-field communication (NFC), etc.

Use this technology with your favorite peer-to-peer platform communication framework like Apple's Multipeer Connectivity and Google's Nearby Connections API to set up a peer-to-peer network. This enables you to securely replicate data over a local network using a scalable, reliable, and performant replication protocol regardless of network connectivity.

On-device encryption

Couchbase Mobile 2.1 allows encryption of the local embedded database, ensuring data security and privacy while at rest. End-to-end security has always been the cornerstone of the Couchbase Mobile platform as it powers business-critical applications that demand high levels of security and privacy.

Simplified APIs

This release introduces new, easy-to-learn APIs that reduce the learning curve and enable developers to become productive quickly. Incorporating extensive input from the developer community, the APIs include new capabilities such as built-in thread safety, mutable properties, typed accessors, and blobs for accessing attachments.

New query interface

Couchbase Mobile introduces a simpler, more powerful query interface for Couchbase Lite that can help significantly reduce the time and effort required for development. The new interface is based on N1QL – the Couchbase declarative query language that extends SQL for JSON. Developers who have used SQL will find the new interface familiar.

With two styles, builder and fluent, the query API enables developers to choose the implementation depending on the development platform. It also provides a consistent cross-platform experience to developers, making it super easy to build applications that behave and perform the same way irrespective of the platform.

Automatic conflict management

Conflict management has been completely redesigned in Couchbase Mobile 2.0 and will detect any conflict and automatically resolve it without additional code. It will also reduce the complexity involved in building distributed apps that share data amongst users and devices.

Full-Text Search

Users can perform full-text searches on JSON documents stored in Couchbase Lite. Developers can create a mobile app search experience that mirrors Google, Yahoo, and other search experiences on the web.

The API for using full-text search is similar to the query API. Users can search for text, text fragments, and text connected by binary operators. Couchbase Lite locates the set of JSON documents that best matches those terms.

New replication protocol

Couchbase Mobile incorporates a new replication protocol. Based on WebSocket, the protocol is designed to be fast, efficient, and simple to implement, providing a symmetrical approach for client and server.

The new replication protocol also consumes fewer resources on both the client and the server. As a result, more clients can connect concurrently, and they can synchronize data with lower latencies. The faster speed and lower latency achieved with the new replication protocol help deliver a better, more responsive user experience.

Automatic conflict management

Conflict management has been completely redesigned in Couchbase Mobile 2.0 and will now detect any conflict and automatically resolve it without additional code. It will also reduce the complexity involved in building distributed apps that share data among users and devices.

On-device replicas

An on-device replica enables developers to provide data recovery on the edge. It allows a Couchbase Lite replicator to store data on secondary storage that can then be ported to a different device. It would be especially useful in scenarios where a user’s device is damaged and the data needs to be moved to a different device.