Getting Started with Firebase Cloud Firestore
Cloud Firestore is a flexible, scalable database for mobile, web, and server development from Firebase and Google Cloud. Firebase Cloud Firestore is a NoSQL document database. This means your data is stored in documents organized in collections. Documents can contain a variety of data types, including strings, numbers, arrays, objects, and geopoints. Like Firebase Realtime Database, it keeps your data in sync across client apps through real time listeners and offers offline support for mobile and web so you can build responsive apps that work regardless of network latency or Internet connectivity. Cloud Firestore also offers seamless integration with other Firebase and Google Cloud products, including Cloud Functions.
Firebase Cloud Firestore provides eventual consistency by default. This means that your data may not be immediately available to all clients after it is written. However, you can use transactions to ensure your data is always consistent.
Installing Firebase
Creating a Firebase Application
Using the Firebase Emulator
Creating a Cloud Firestore Database
Writing content to the database
Reading content from the database
Setting Database Security Rules
Before the database can be used, the security rules need to be configured. In this lab Cloud Firestore will be used in development mode.
| The Firestore database can now be accessed by the application. The default security rules setting does not permit read/write access to the database. Ensure the security rules reflect the desired access, to learn more on this subject visit [Get started with Cloud Firestore Security Rules | Firebase](https://firebase.google.com/docs/firestore/security/get-started#auth-required). |
With the database security rules in place, the next step is to configure the environment. Learn more about it in the next section.
Configuring the Firebase Environment
Before you can add Firebase to your JavaScript app, you need to create a Firebase project and register your app with that project. When you register your app with Firebase, you’ll get a Firebase configuration object that you’ll use to connect your app with your Firebase project resources.
Creating a Firebase Application
The following section creates the elements required to perform Firebase Authentication using an email/password combination on the web.
Adding a Webpack configuration
Webpack is a common method of bundling web code and assets.
Writing to a Firestore Document
Update the Cloud Firestore firestore configuration to write information to the database.
To add content to the linked Firebase project, use the getFirestore call. Update the src/index.js code created earlier to write to the project Firestore database.
Reading a Firestore Document
Update the Cloud Firestore firestore configuration to read information from the database.
To access document information from the linked Firebase project, add the getDoc call. Update the src/index.js code created earlier to enable the application to read from the project Firestore database.
In just 30 minutes, you developed a solid understanding of Firebase on the Web and the key features. You learned about installing Firebase Firestore, writing information to the database and reading a document. You are now ready to take more labs.
