Firebase is a platform that seeks to help application developers in many aspects, especially with regards to publishing and distributing apps. To do this, it has products that greatly simplify the issue of the database and, in relation to this, today we will talk to you about what is Firebase Realtime Database and some of its main characteristics.
Firebase is a platform that offers two products or solutions on the topic of databases that are connected to the cloud and that are accessible to clients who want real-time synchronization:
Cloud Firestore Realtime Database
The product Cloud Firestore It is recent and is focused on the development of applications for mobile devices. Today, however, we will focus on what Firebase realtime database is, an original service of this platform.
In case you want to know other products that this platform offers, outside of what Firebase Realtime Database is, We invite you to take a look at our post Firebase realtime data products, where we make a classification of the most useful products.
What is Firebase Realtime Database?
To answer the question of what Firebase Realtime Database is, we can start by saying that it is a Firebase product that allows you store and synchronize data of the different users who use your app in real time. In addition, it allows users to access data from any device, whether web or mobile.
We can consider this Firebase product a response to the situation that in application development it is necessary to consider many things to store and share data on a server. It is worth saying that it can be too complicated to configure and maintain a database.
Taking the above into account and that, suddenly, you want to synchronize data in real time for your app or need assistance when you are offline, Firebase Realtime Database arises, with which you can save a lot of work time and automate many processes.
Advantages of Firebase Realtime Database
After learning what Firebase Realtime Database is, you may wonder why you should consider this product as an option. First of all, we can tell you that this Firebase product has several advantages. For example, when you update data in Realtime Database, it They are stored in the cloud and the platform sends a notification to all devices that are connected to your app in a matter of seconds.
Another advantage of what the firebase database is is that it is configured to allow you use it offline. This means that in the event that the user loses the internet connection, the database SDK will make use of a local cache on the device, in order to process and store the changes made during that time and, when the user can connect again, local data will be synchronized automatically.
Something important to highlight is that, when you think about what Firebase Realtime Database is and the reasons why you should use it, you need to consider all the possibilities it offers and analyze the ones that adapt to your needs. Furthermore, we could say that one of its most useful advantages is that it has an SDK for Android, iOS and JavaScript.
How to protect data with Firebase Realtime Database?
Firebase recommends using the safety rules included in Realtime Database, with which you can specify who can or cannot access your app’s data and how everything should be structured.
These safety regulations have the function of store safely the database in real time on the servers we use. Therefore, if you want users to only be able to access their own data or the messages they are going to send to have a character limit, you only need a few lines of code that probably won’t take you much time.
How to deploy Firebase Realtime Database?
Once you know what Firebase Realtime Database is, it is important to know how to implement it. The first thing you must do to carry out this process is integrate the SDKs. Afterwards, you must create references to your JSON data, in order to set data. The next step is to use those references to configure and detect changes.
When you have that, you must enable offline persistence, so that changes made are not lost when the network goes down. Finally, you need to protect the data, that is, use safety rules so that users feel confident when using your app.
Where to continue?
Now that you know what Firebase Realtime Database is and some of its main features, Surely you want to know more about the platforms designed for the development and design of mobile applications. If you like to learn new things or reinforce your knowledge, we invite you to consult our Full Stack Mobile App Development Bootcamp.
With this bootcamp that we offer you from , we hope that, in a short time, you can learn what the multiplatform app development processes are like, what the fundamentals of both Android and iOS are, as well as various application design guidelines, some of the languages of more relevant programming and much more. Request information now and don’t hesitate to sign up!