Introduction to Orbit-db

Orbit-db is a serverless, distributed, peer-to-peer database built on IPFS. It allows developers to create and manage decentralized applications easily. This article will explore the key functionalities of Orbit-db with practical examples of its APIs.

Getting Started

To get started with Orbit-db, you need to install it first:

npm install orbit-db

Initializing Orbit-db

Below is the code snippet for initializing Orbit-db:

      const IPFS = require('ipfs');
      const OrbitDB = require('orbit-db');

      async function init() {
        const ipfs = await IPFS.create();
        const orbitdb = await OrbitDB.createInstance(ipfs);
      
        console.log("Orbit-db Initialized");
      }

      init();
    

Creating and Using Databases

Orbit-db supports different types of databases:

• Key-Value Store
• Log
• Feed
• Counter
• Documents Store

Key-Value Store

Below is an example of how to create and use a key-value store:

      const db = await orbitdb.keyvalue('keyvalue_example');
      await db.put('name', 'Orbit-db');
      const value = await db.get('name');
      console.log(value);  // Outputs: Orbit-db
    

Log

Create and use a log database:

      const log = await orbitdb.log('log_example');
      await log.add('Hello World!');
      const logs = log.iterator({ limit: -1 }).collect();
      console.log(logs.map(e => e.payload.value));
    

Feed

Create and manage a feed:

      const feed = await orbitdb.feed('feed_example');
      await feed.add('Hello Feed!');
      const feedItems = feed.iterator({ limit: -1 }).collect();
      console.log(feedItems.map(e => e.payload.value));
    

Counter

Creating and using a counter store:

      const counter = await orbitdb.counter('counter_example');
      await counter.inc(1);
      console.log(counter.value);  // Outputs: 1
    

Documents Store

Create and use a documents store:

      const docstore = await orbitdb.docs('docstore_example');
      await docstore.put({ _id: '1', name: 'Orbit-db'});
      const document = docstore.get('1');
      console.log(document);
    

Building a Simple App with Orbit-db

Here is an example of a simple app that utilizes the introduced Orbit-db APIs:

      const IPFS = require('ipfs');
      const OrbitDB = require('orbit-db');

      async function runApp() {
        const ipfs = await IPFS.create();
        const orbitdb = await OrbitDB.createInstance(ipfs);

        // Using Key-Value Store
        const kvStore = await orbitdb.keyvalue('kvStore_app');
        await kvStore.put('title', 'My Decentralized App');
        const title = await kvStore.get('title');
        console.log('Title: ', title);

        // Using Counter
        const counter = await orbitdb.counter('counter_app');
        await counter.inc(5);
        console.log('Counter: ', counter.value);
      }

      runApp();
    

With these tools and examples, you are ready to explore and build powerful decentralized applications using Orbit-db.

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