With everything moving so quickly in the digital world, businesses and developers are always on the lookout for cool ways to make their web apps better. Using Firebase with Angular is a game-changer because it meets the demand for real-time data sync, great user experiences, and scalable back-end infrastructure.
Before we dive into how to use Firebase with Angular to level up your web projects, let’s first explore the Firebase as a whole.
WHAT IS FIREBASE?
Google is behind Firebase, which is now a popular platform used for app development worldwide. It has a bunch of cool tools and services for developers to make their apps better and easier to manage. No need to stress about server management—developers can easily add Firebase’s backend services to their apps.
As per the available stats, there are almost 50,000 companies across the globe which rely on Google Firebase. The numbers show the huge popularity for Firebase as an application development tool.
Principal functions and features of Firebase
Some principal functions and features provided by Firebase are:
Authentication
Firebase Authentication offers ready-made UI frameworks and simple-to-use SDKs for verifying user identities via phone numbers, social media logins (Facebook, Twitter, Google), email addresses, and more.
But at the same time, it is important to carefully configure the Firebase authentication as poorly authenticated databases are vulnerable to attackers who can steal the data easily.
As per the study given by Atos, approximately 8.4% of apps using Firebase have publicly accessible databases. Means it’s possible for anyone with internet access to potentially retrieve this data.
Firebase Realtime
Firebase Database, being a NoSQL cloud database allows developers store and sync data across various clients in real time. It is also known as Firestore. It works well for applications that need user cooperation and real-time changes.
As per the data, Ahoy Games boosted their purchases by 13% using Firebase Remote Config personalization!
Even Hotstar tested it and could increase its user engagement by 38%. Hotstar, the big Indian streaming service, relies on Firebase to keep user data in sync across devices. This lets the Hotstar to provides its users a smooth experience, even when they’re offline. With the result, user engagement has gone up by 38%.
Here’s what Mr. Kshitij, VP of Engineering, Hotstar says on Firebase
“Moving to Firebase was one of the best decisions we ever made. Firebase helps us safely, easily, and quickly run experiments and roll out new features to enhance our user experience. We’re excited to continue growing with Firebase!”
Mr. Kshitij, VP of Engineering, Hotstar
Cloud Firestore
The Firebase Realtime Database’s next generation is called Firestore. It has built-in scalability to manage large-scale applications, multi-region support, and more potent querying capabilities. BuzzFeed, Airbnb, and Slack are some of the top companies which uses Firestore.
Did you know that Firestore has a whopping 250,000 active developers? It stores over 100 petabytes of data and handles a mind-boggling 100 billion reads and writes every day!
Cloud Storage
Developers can safely store and deliver user-generated material, including documents, videos, and photographs, with Firebase Cloud Storage. It offers a dependable and scalable way approach to managing file transfers.
Understand Firebase Cloud Storage in a better way
Hosting
Using Firebase Hosting, developers can swiftly and safely launch web apps onto a worldwide content delivery network (CDN). Features like SSL certificates, custom domains, and automated scaling are supported.
Firebase hosting delivers positive results to many companies, some of them are:
- Josh Talks employs Firebase Hosting to provide its video streaming service to a large user base across the globe.
- Doodle‘s got its scheduling magic through Firebase Hosting!
- eBay Motors takes help from Firebase Hosting to host its website, which includes a large number of images.
- Mobills and Tapple are also there which rely on Firebase Hosting to host their budgeting and mobile apps respectively.
Firebase is a cloud function. With Cloud Functions, developers may respond to events generated by HTTPS requests and Firebase capabilities by executing backend code. It makes server infrastructure management unnecessary by enabling serverless computing.
Analytics
Firebase Analytics empowers developers to analyze user interactions and enhance app experiences.
Do you know that GameNexa Studios uses Firebase in boosting its in-app purchases and making that monetization game strong!
GameNexa Studios is a mobile game development company that checked out user behavior using Firebase Analytics to find ways to make their games better. Hence Firebase analytic became a secret sauce for doubling in-app purchase revenue and spicing up their monetization game!
Understand Firebase Analytics in a better way
Performance Monitoring
By tracking network requests, app launch times, and other important metrics, Firebase Performance Monitoring assists developers in locating and resolving performance problems in their applications.
Get better understanding on performance monitoring through this video presentation
Remote Configuration
Firebase Without needing to update the app, developers may remotely set up parameters and settings for their apps using Remote Config. It makes feature flagging, A/B testing, and customized app experiences possible.
Various case studies on remote configuration are available to state its importance. One of them is on Ahoy Games which effectively utilized Remote Config personalization to improve their conversion rates and drive more purchases through user experience optimization.
Cloud Messaging
Developers may send alerts and messages to users on Android, iOS, and the web with Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM).
Check out these stats on FCM—they’ll help you get it!
- Message size: FCM as similar to Apple Push Notification service (APNs) have a message size limit of 4096 bytes.
- Connections: FCM allows a maximum of 2500 simultaneous connections per project.
- Upstream messages: FCM has its limits when it comes to upstream messages. It’s like they’re saying, ‘Slow down, cowboy!’—1,500,000 per minute per project and 1,000 per minute per device.
- Data coverage: Firebase Cloud Messaging Data API metrics give us a good idea of how messages are delivered. It’s worth to note that we don’t get data on 100% coverage for every possible message scenario.
- Platform: FCM serves as a reliable cross-platform cloud service, enabling seamless messaging and notifications across Android, iOS, and web applications.
- Cost: FCM is available at no cost.
- Payload: FCM has the ability to transfer a payload of up to 4000 bytes right into a client app.
All things considered, Firebase offers a full range of services and technologies that accelerate the creation of apps, enhance their quality, and assist developers in expanding their user base and income. It is extensively utilized by developers and companies of all kinds to create robust and expandable online and mobile apps.
HOW TO USE FIREBASE WITH ANGULAR?
Authentication, Realtime Database, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, and other Firebase services must be integrated into an Angular application in order to use Firebase with Angular. I’ll walk you how to use Firebase with Anguar step-by-step and explain each one below.
Step 1: Launching the Firebase Project
- Make a project in Firebase: Create a new project by visiting the Firebase Console at console.firebase.google.com.
- Turn on Firebase Services: From the Firebase Console, turn on the Firebase services (authentication, firestore, storage, etc.) that you require for your project.
- Obtain Firebase Configuration: Go to the Firebase settings and retrieve the Firebase configuration object (apiKey, authDomain, projectId, etc.). To initialize Firebase in your Angular application, you will require this setup.
Step 2: Installation and Setup of Angles
1. Establish an Angular Project: To kick off a fresh Angular project, just use the Angular CLI:
ng new my-firebase-app
2. Install the Firebase SDK and AngularFire: With npm, install the Firebase SDK and the AngularFire library:
npm install firebase @angular/fire
Step 3: Integration of Firebase Authentication
1. Set Up Authentication Techniques: In the Firebase Console, configure your authentication methods (email and password, Google, Facebook, etc.).
2. Module for Authentication in AngularFire: Add the AngularFireAuthModule to the module of your Angular application:
import { AngularFireAuthModule } from
'@angular/fire/auth';
@NgModule({
imports: [
AngularFireAuthModule
]
})
3. Verify Users’ Authenticity: For user authentication in Angular components, use the AngularFireAuth service:
import { AngularFireAuth } from '@angular/fire/auth';
constructor(private afAuth: AngularFireAuth) {}
signInWithEmailPassword(email: string, password: string) {
return this.afAuth.signInWithEmailAndPassword(email, password);
}
Step 4: Integrating Firebase Real-Time Database
1. Establish Database Rules: Using the Firebase Console, configure the database’s structure and rules.
2. Module for AngularFire Database: Add the AngularFireDatabaseModule to the module of your Angular application:
import { AngularFireDatabaseModule } from
'@angular/fire/database';
@NgModule({
imports: [
AngularFireDatabaseModule
]
})
3. Get Real-Time Database Access: To communicate with Firebase Realtime Database, use the AngularFireDatabase service:
import { AngularFireDatabase } from
'@angular/fire/database';
constructor(private db: AngularFireDatabase) {}
getUsers() {
return this.db.list('users').valueChanges();
}
Step 5: Firebase Cloud Firestore Integration
1. Set up Firestore Rules: Configure your Firebase Console database and security settings.
2. Module for AngularFirestore: Add the AngularFirestoreModule to the module of your Angular application:
import { AngularFirestoreModule } from
'@angular/fire/firestore';
@NgModule({
imports: [
AngularFirestoreModule
]
})
3. Open Firestore: To conduct CRUD activities on Firestore, use the AngularFirestore service:
import { AngularFirestore } from
'@angular/fire/firestore';
constructor(private firestore: AngularFirestore) {}
getUsers() {
return this.firestore.collection('users').valueChanges();
}
Step 6: Integration of Firebase Cloud Storage
1. Configure Storage Rules: Use the Firebase Console to set up storage rules and structures.
2. Module for AngularFireStorage: Add the AngularFireStorageModule to the module of your Angular application:
import { AngularFireStorageModule } from '@angular/fire/storage';
@NgModule({
imports: [
AngularFireStorageModule
]
})
3. Access Cloud Storage: Use AngularFireStorage service to manage file uploads and downloads:
import { AngularFireStorage } from
'@angular/fire/storage';
constructor(private storage: AngularFireStorage) {}
uploadFile(file: File) {
const filePath = 'path/to/upload/' + file.name;
const fileRef = this.storage.ref(filePath);
return fileRef.put(file);
}
Are you interested in learning both Angular and Firebase?
Yes! Our trainers are pros at teaching Angular with Firebase. You’ll be a pro too with our Angular Master course!
