The createIndex()
method of the IDBObjectStore
interface creates and returns a new IDBIndex
object in the connected database, this is, it creates a new field/column defining a new data point for each database record to contain.
Bear in mind that IndexedDB indexes can contain any JavaScript data type; IndexedDB uses the structured clone algorithm to serialize stored objects, which allows for storage of simple and complex objects.
Note that this method must be called only from a VersionChange
transaction mode callback.
Syntax
var myIDBIndex = objectStore.createIndex(indexName, keyPath); var myIDBIndex = objectStore.createIndex(indexName, keyPath, objectParameters);
Parameters
- indexName
- The name of the index to create. Note that it is possible to create an index with an empty name.
- keyPath
- The key path for the index to use. Note that it is possible to create an index with an empty
keyPath
, and also to pass in a sequence (array) as akeyPath
. - objectParameters Optional
-
An
IDBIndexParameters
object, which can include the following properties:Attribute Description unique
If true, the index will not allow duplicate values for a single key. multiEntry
If true
, the index will add an entry in the index for each array element when the keyPath resolves to an Array. Iffalse
, it will add one single entry containing the Array.locale
Currently Firefox-only (43+), this allows you to specify a locale for the index. Any sorting operations performed on the data via key ranges will then obey sorting rules of that locale (see locale-aware sorting.) You can specify its value in one of three ways:
string
: A string containing a specific locale code, e.g.en-US
, orpl
.auto
: The platform default locale will be used (may be changed by user agent settings.)null or undefined
: If no locale is specified, normal JavaScript sorting will be used — not locale-aware.
Return value
An IDBIndex
object: the newly created index.
Exceptions
This method may raise a DOMException
of one of the following types:
Exception | Description |
---|---|
ConstraintError |
Occurs if an index with the same name already exists in the database. Index names are case-sensitive. |
InvalidAccessError |
Occurs if the provided key path is a sequence, and multiEntry is set to true in the objectParameters object. |
InvalidStateError |
Occurs if either:
|
SyntaxError |
Occurs if the provided keyPath is not a valid key path. |
TransactionInactiveError |
Occurs if the transaction this IDBObjectStore belongs to is not active (e.g. has been deleted or removed.) In Firefox previous to version 41, an InvalidStateError was raised in this case as well, which was misleading; this has now been fixed (see bug 1176165.) |
Example
In the following example you can see the IDBOpenDBRequest.onupgradeneeded
handler being used to update the database structure if a database with a higher version number is loaded. createIndex()
is used to create new indexes on the object store. For a full working example, see our To-do Notifications app (view example live.)
var db; // Let us open our database var DBOpenRequest = window.indexedDB.open("toDoList", 4); // Two event handlers for opening the database. DBOpenRequest.onerror = function(event) { note.innerHTML += '<li>Error loading database.</li>'; }; DBOpenRequest.onsuccess = function(event) { note.innerHTML += '<li>Database initialised.</li>'; // store the result of opening the database in the db variable. // This is used a lot below. db = request.result; // Run the displayData() function to populate the task list with // all the to-do list data already in the IDB displayData(); }; // This handler fires when a new database is created and indicates // either that one has not been created before, or a new version // was submitted with window.indexedDB.open(). (See above.) // It is only implemented in recent browsers. DBOpenRequest.onupgradeneeded = function(event) { var db = event.target.result; db.onerror = function(event) { note.innerHTML += '<li>Error loading database.</li>'; }; // Create an objectStore for this database var objectStore = db.createObjectStore("toDoList", { keyPath: "taskTitle" }); // define what data items the objectStore will contain objectStore.createIndex("hours", "hours", { unique: false }); objectStore.createIndex("minutes", "minutes", { unique: false }); objectStore.createIndex("day", "day", { unique: false }); objectStore.createIndex("month", "month", { unique: false }); objectStore.createIndex("year", "year", { unique: false }); objectStore.createIndex("notified", "notified", { unique: false }); };
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
Indexed Database API The definition of 'createIndex()' in that specification. |
Recommendation | |
Indexed Database API 2.0 The definition of 'createIndex()' in that specification. |
Editor's Draft |
Browser compatibility
Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari (WebKit) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | 23webkit 24 (unprefixed) |
(Yes) | 10 moz 16.0 (16.0) |
10, partial | 15 | 7.1 |
Available in workers | (Yes) | ? | 37.0 (37.0) | ? | (Yes) | ? |
Indexed Database 2.0 | 58 | ? | ? | ? | 45 | ? |
Feature | Android Webview | Chrome for Android | Edge | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | Firefox OS | IE Phone | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | 22.0 (22.0) | 1.0.1 | 10 | 22 | 8 |
Available in workers | (Yes) | (Yes) | ? | 37.0 (37.0) | (Yes) | ? | (Yes) | ? |
Indexed Database 2.0 | 58 | 58 | ? | ? | ? | ? | 45 | ? |
See also
- Using IndexedDB
- Starting transactions:
IDBDatabase
- Using transactions:
IDBTransaction
- Setting a range of keys:
IDBKeyRange
- Retrieving and making changes to your data:
IDBObjectStore
- Using cursors:
IDBCursor
- Reference example: To-do Notifications (view example live.)