Data islands are hidden data stores accessed via XML files, useful for making information available without slowing down web pages. However, browser compatibility is an ongoing issue. They can also refer to external storage devices with limited connectivity.
A data island is a data store that is hidden in a web page and is accessed via an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file. Data islands can be useful for making information available when needed without bogging down the contents of a web page with large amounts of data that could create slow load times. However, this method of hiding information on a web page is not applicable to all browsers, which users should consider.
In a data island, the user creates a reference to an XML file and embeds it in the page. If there is a situation where you need to view the data of that file, the dynamic page can serve that content. For example, on an e-commerce site, the contents of the shopping cart might be encoded in XML. The user can hover to see a list of the things they have in their cart, but this information remains hidden the rest of the time.
Coding tricks like using data islands can make the overall files much smaller. This can be important for internet users with slow connections who find it difficult to load resource-heavy pages. The flexibility of data islands can also help reduce server loads. If the user doesn’t need the data, it isn’t displayed and this limits calls to the server. When the user needs to access it, it can be quickly invoked via the XML file.
The problem with data islands is browser compatibility, an ongoing problem on the internet. Each browser displays and handles information slightly differently. This could cause minor problems, such as when a web page is not displayed in the correct color. It can also be a significant problem when it comes to code that won’t display at all or will return errors when the browser tries to display it. Data island doesn’t work and works reliably across all browsers, and designers may want to consider other, more standardized methods of hiding information until users actually need it.
This term is also used in reference to external storage devices with high capacity but limited connectivity. Users can interact with the data island to play music, read books and watch movies. If they want to load or remove material, they will have to specifically connect the data island to another computer to synchronize and transfer data.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
