Using HTML5 Local Storage for simulating web app functionality

HTML5 is picking up steam in the web development world as the new standard for interactivity and with the WHATWG recently releasing a technical specification it is now becoming a reality.

Local Storage provides a simple way to store key / value pairs on the client side using javascript to get and set values. This type of storage has many possibilities, from offline applications to multipart forms without using ajax. In our situation we needed to simulate the functionality of an unbuilt system for user testing, to ensure that the front-end design was simple and efficient to use.

We used Local Storage to simulate a shopping cart and checkout process without the need for the backend to be in place. This allowed us to rapidly prototype new functionality and test many different variations, whilst providing a seamless experience for the users testing the product.

To read more about HTML5 Local Storage, the following references are useful:
- http://diveintohtml5.org/storage.html
- http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/quick-tip-learning-about-html5-local-storage/
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en/DOM/Storage