A key option is missing from this list: returning everything (with a sanity LIMIT far beyond the usual result count) and just doing the pagination in JavaScript

A key option is missing from this list: returning everything (with a sanity LIMIT far beyond the usual result count) and just doing the pagination in JavaScript. I'm sure this will get me all kinds of backlash from noscript purists and optimization fanatics, but it works great, is easy to implement, there's millions of JS table/list libraries that give you the pagination for free (plus free sorting and filtering). It is by far the most productive option for the developer, if the data size allows (I'd wager it often does), and it does not even have the problems this article describes about OFFSET.