Compatibility with the Firebase Web API

[EddyVerbruggen]

As y'all may know, this plugin is built on top of the native iOS and Android SDK's which are very different from the web API. For instance, the web API uses a method like on to attach an event listener to a db path, whereas the native (iOS) API uses observeEventType:WithBlock:WithCancelBlock.

Adding Web API compatibility will have the following benefits:

• Easily switch back and forth between web and native Firebase usage (for instance, to upgrade from webview-based usage scenario's).
• Allow for easier code sharing between web and native in 1 project.
• It will be easier to add AngularFire compatibility (Feature/Question #260) later, because that works on top of the Web API.

Tasks:

These are the WebAPI function names I'd like to wire to their native equivalents (checked = completed):

firebase

• .initializeApp

firebase.auth()

• .signInAnonymously
• .signInWithEmailAndPassword
• .createUserWithEmailAndPassword
• .signOut
• .fetchProvidersForEmail

firebase.database().ref(path: string)

• .set
• .remove
• .on
• .off
• .once
• .orderByChild
• .orderByKey
• .orderByPriority
• .orderByValue

firebase.firestore()

see #507

Other web API functions

Let's cut the 5.0.0 release and add other functions (based on demand by the community) later.

[EddyVerbruggen]

Note that I still need to document these, but that can wait until after the release.

[RaphaelJenni]

@EddyVerbruggen for the authentication, how do I authenticate with a provider?

Can I run the web API and the "old" version in parallel? How? One uses ns-pl-fb/app and one doesn't require the /app. Do I need to have two different imports and how does it work with the initialization?

[EddyVerbruggen]

Hi @RaphaelJenni!

You can use them in parallel. Internally they call the same (native SDK) code. So you can mix & match them.

As an example look at the usages of these imports in the demo app.

[RaphaelJenni]

Ah perfect. Thanks.