How do we Perform Pagination in API Design?

Pagination is crucial in API design to handle large datasets efficiently and improve performance. Here are six popular pagination techniques:

• Offset-based Pagination:

  This technique uses an offset and a limit parameter to define the starting point and the number of records to return.

  • Example: GET /orders?offset=0&limit=3
  • Pros: Simple to implement and understand.
  • Cons: Can become inefficient for large offsets, as it requires scanning and skipping rows.

• Cursor-based Pagination:

  This technique uses a cursor (a unique identifier) to mark the position in the dataset. Typically, the cursor is an encoded string that points to a specific record.

  • Example: GET /orders?cursor=xxx
  • Pros: More efficient for large datasets, as it doesn’t require scanning skipped records.
  • Cons: Slightly more complex to implement and understand.

• Page-based Pagination:

  This technique specifies the page number and the size of each page.

  • Example: GET /items?page=2&size=3
  • Pros: Easy to implement and use.
  • Cons: Similar performance issues as offset-based pagination for large page numbers.

• Keyset-based Pagination:

  This technique uses a key to filter the dataset, often the primary key or another indexed column.

  • Example: GET /items?after_id=102&limit=3
  • Pros: Efficient for large datasets and avoids performance issues with large offsets.
  • Cons: Requires a unique and indexed key, and can be complex to implement.

• Time-based Pagination:

  This technique uses a timestamp or date to paginate through records.

  • Example: GET /items?start_time=xxx&end_time=yyy
  • Pros: Useful for datasets ordered by time, ensures no records are missed if new ones are added.
  • Cons: Requires a reliable and consistent timestamp.

• Hybrid Pagination:

  This technique combines multiple pagination techniques to leverage their strengths.

  • Example: Combining cursor and time-based pagination for efficient scrolling through time-ordered records.
  • Example: GET /items?cursor=abc&start_time=xxx&end_time=yyy
  • Pros: Can offer the best performance and flexibility for complex datasets.
  • Cons: More complex to implement and requires careful design.