JavaScript: sharing data between tabs

Question

What is the best way to share data between open tabs in a browser?

Answer 1

For a more modern solution check out https://stackoverflow.com/a/12514384/270274

Quote:

I'm sticking to the shared local data solution mentioned in the question using localStorage. It seems to be the best solution in terms of reliability, efficiency, and browser compatibility.

localStorage is implemented in all modern browsers.

The storage event fires when other tabs makes changes to localStorage. This is quite handy for communication purposes.

Reference:
http://dev.w3.org/html5/webstorage/
http://dev.w3.org/html5/webstorage/#the-storage-event

Answer 2

If the first tab opens the second tab automagically, you can do something like this:

First tab:

//open the first tab var child_window = window.open( ...params... ); 

Second tab:

// get reference to first tab var parent_window = window.opener; 

Then, you can call functions and do all sorts of stuff between tabs:

// copy var from child window var var_from_child = child_window.some_var;  // call function in child window child_window.do_something( 'with', 'these', 'params' )  // copy var from parent window var var_from_parent = parent_window.some_var;  // call function in child window parent_window.do_something( 'with', 'these', 'params' )