What is Cursor-based Pagination?
A pagination method that uses a pointer to the last item seen rather than page numbers.
Why It Matters
Cursor-based pagination performs better than offset pagination for large datasets and handles real-time data changes gracefully.
Real-World Example
Loading the next 20 items after the last item you saw, rather than requesting 'page 5'.
“Understanding terms like Cursor-based Pagination matters because it helps you have better conversations with developers and make smarter decisions about your software. You do not need to be technical. You just need to know enough to ask the right questions.”
Learn More at buildDay Melbourne
Want to understand these concepts hands-on? Join our one-day workshop and build a real web application from scratch.
Related Terms
API
A way for different software applications to talk to each other and share data
Pagination
Breaking large lists of data into smaller pages that load separately
Offset Pagination
A pagination method that skips a fixed number of records to get the next page of results.
Database
An organised collection of data that your application can store, retrieve, and update
SQL
A language for communicating with databases, used to create, read, update, and delete data
NoSQL
Databases that store data differently from traditional tables, often as flexible documents or key-value pairs