Firebase Services

In this lesson, I will introduce you to the Firebase services that will be covered in this course. These are what I consider core services and the ones you need to learn to get the most out of Firebase when getting started. The best thing about Firebase services is you can use each one as a stand-alone​ service or combine them.

We'll cover the following

Cloud Firestore #

Cloud Firestore is Firebase’s newest database. Nearly every project needs persistent data, and this is how Firebase delivers that functionality to you. Let’s take a look at some benefits of using Firestore:

  1. Realtime
  2. NoSQL
  3. Security

Realtime

Realtime means that for every change in the database, all connected clients are updated. This feature saves you a ton of time when developing applications. It simplifies logic and reduces how much code you need to write.

NoSQL

Cloud Firestore is a NoSQL document database. There has been a surge of popularity for NoSQL databases. A lot of developers find them easier to use. The data structures used by NoSQL databases are also viewed as “more flexible” than relational database tables.

Security

Security is handled by a comprehensive set of security rules. With them, you can easily create restrictions for who can read, write, update, or delete information from your database.

Hosting #

Firebase Hosting is a no-nonsense, low learning curve, problem-free option. Here are a few reasons I like it and recommend it for other developers:

  1. SSL for Every Site
  2. Fast Servers
  3. Deploy From CLI

SSL for Every Site

The SSL certificate is automatically provisioned and configured for each site deployed.

Cached on SSDs

Sites deployed to Firebase Hosting are cached on SSD’s for a low latency reliable experience.

Deploy From CLI

Deploying your app to the web from a local directory only takes one command.

Storage #

People love to share photos, videos, and gifs. Firebase storage allows your users to store and share these files through your app. Here are some of the features of Firebase’s storage:

  1. Can Handle Large File Sizes
  2. File Security
  3. Any File Type

Can Handle Large File Sizes

Storage can scale to petabytes. No matter how big your file is Firebase can handle it.

File Security

Use a set of comprehensive security rules that allow you to control who can upload to or read from your Storage.

Any File Type

There are no restrictions on the types of files you can upload, which means you can use the service for images, videos PDFs, or any other type of file.

Authentication #

Authentication from scratch usually takes days if not weeks of coding to get it done correctly. Firebase offers a solution to authentication that requires less code, less time, and better security through the following features:

  1. Email and Password Authentication
  2. OAuth authentication
  3. User Security
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Email and Password Authentication

This method of authentication is a must-have for many applications. Firebase has this built-in.

OAuth Authentication

Using an existing platform to authenticate a user is known as OAuth. Firebase utilizes Google, Facebook, Twitter, Github, and many other providers that you can use to authenticate your users.

User Security

Authentication security can be tricky to configure from scratch but Firebase has taken care of all the difficult stuff for you. Users are automatically secured. No configuration required!

Additional Firebase Services

There are several more services Firebase has to offer, but for this course, we will be discussing the core services used in the development of applications. With them, you will be able to leverage Firebase to build fast, highly effective web applications. When you finish this course I encourage you to take time to explore the other services Firebase has to offer.

Summary

After taking this course, you will have the knowledge to continue learning new, useful, and interesting things about Firebase.

Each Firebase service can be used on its own or together with the other services. This makes it easy to pick and choose the right services for your specific application.

In the next lesson, I give you a full example of you to write to and read from the Cloud Firestore database. I will also show you the steps it takes to do it without Firebase using Node, Express, and MongoDB. Pay attention to how much code is used for each example!