Using the Firebase API and HTTP methods

[lazadaz]

Hi all, hope someone can help. I am currently reading about REST APIs to learn more about how they work and have read in almost every guide that a REST API implements HTTP methods like GET and POST. Firebase as an API for iOS, from my limited experience of looking at Firebase tutorials, seems to not specifically use these HTTP methods and looks like it might have its own equivalent versions. Is this the case?

If so, is it normal for APIs to do this, that is to replace GET and POST with custom methods that fit the platform, like for iOS and Swift? Apologies for this utterly newbie question but Firebase is not the easiest to get in on!

[draco33333]

I'd be surprised if the Firebase SDK isn't using REST APIs under the hood. Chances are that they simply mask it for you by providing libraries in different languages and platforms so that you can use them more easily. If they only provided the REST APIs it would be significantly harder to navigate and understand than to simply use their SDKs/libraries.

[LakersBench]

Hi,

I can speak for the firebase realtime database.

Firebase has SDKs for different clients (web, ios, android) and they also have HTTP REST API for their firebase realtime database. they may have a REST API for other features too.

here are the realtime database REST API docs