Cloud-hosted database
NoSQL database; data is stored as JSON
Changes made to the database are automatically synchronized for any other computer/phone (i.e. client) that is viewing data from the database
Real-time database documentation can be found here
Firebase’s real-time database is structured like a JSON tree (think root and branches)
Data stored in a JSON tree is hierarchical (parent/child)
Propertie names in the JSON tree can be used as keys (i.e. unique identifiers)
{
"users": {
"alovelace": {
"name": "Ada Lovelace",
"contacts": { "ghopper": true },
},
"ghopper": { ... },
"eclarke": { ... }
}
}
In the example above, we have a object that contains a list of users. Each user is represented as an object that has a property name or key. alovelace is the key that is tied to the object containing this user’s name and contacts.