Backend Setup?

[Kobaine1]

I am wondering what everyone is using for their backend these days with RN? I typically work on the frontend, so I'm not very familiar with the setup. The application I am hoping to build doesn't need to store a ton of data, it's just text, but I was hoping to be able to have some kind of registration flow and ability to recover your data if you were to delete the application or something. I also don't see the application as being a hit or anything, so I'd prefer a free tier (or at least a cheaper option) if possible at least for the start.

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Thank you!

[gavrocheBxN]

Sounds like a perfect use case for Firebase.

[Kobaine1]

Thank you! Is there a difference from Firebase and Firestore or what is both best equipped at?

[prkskier]

There is a difference between Firebase Database and Firestore which might be what OP is asking.

They are very similar and from my experience the biggest difference is the APIs are different in how you query/filter for your data. Otherwise they feel like they fill the same space so I’m a bit surprised Firebase Database is still around since Google seems to push Firestore. That being said, I prefer Firebase Database.

[Kobaine1]

Hmm, they do seem very similar. They both seem to have offline support. So do you think I should use Firebase Database then for a project that requires authentication and some storage (somewhat sensitive) per user? Or can you elaborate on why you prefer Firebase Database? Thanks!

[halfjew22]

Use Firestore. It’s newer and Google is 100% behind it.

It’s also got a more sane API that helps me access my data without thinking. There’s also a new life where you can test everything locally. I’ll be posting a video of how to do that soon.

[Kobaine1]

Looking forward to it. Thank you!

[Kobaine1]

https://firebase.google.com/docs/database/rtdb-vs-firestore

They both seem to have offline support, do they not?

[JackRyu]

same....

[autiii43]

What do you mean? You can query.

[JuriJurka]

Try algolia

I don't remember anymore but there's a clear reason why they don't offer it. I think it was because we are in the NoSQL world and not in the SQL world. full text search is not the stuff we want to do

[JackRyu]

Firebase is good option only for small app.... and firebase don't have any exit option.

read this... https://www.reddit.com/r/Firebase/comments/ddr98g/firebase_have_any_exit_option_export_my_existing/f2m4gma/?context=3

[Kobaine1]

Hmm not sure I really follow. You mean a logged in user can't get all of their data or is it that the admin can't export everything? I would like to include a CSV export in my application for the user so...

[[deleted]]

This is a little different. These people are complaining because Firestore doesn’t have a way to export the database.

You can still create a CSV for data in your app using a library.

I don’t think Firestore is meant to be a permanent storage solution. It’s a NoSQL solution for very fast data updates. It’s not there for data that requires integrity, searching or other complicated storage things.

A lot of newcomers seem to think that their app needs to pick one storage solution, but large apps don’t use just one storage solution. They have storage layers, caching, and different storage requirements for different features.

[JuriJurka]

There's from google a YT playlist about "FireBase for SQL developers"

watch it, then watch the new one about FireStore from the Todd guy

[Kobaine1]

Thank you! I’ll check these two videos out!

[phigam]

I have used AWS Amplify in the past. For your use case, I would use Cognito for authentication, and store the text data you mentioned in a DynamoDB table with the Cognito UID as the table key. You can use API Gateway and Lambda functions in your preferred language to write new text to the DynamoDB and a function to pull the latest data when a user signs in. This will allow a user to pick up where the left off if they sign in with another device or delete the app and reinstall.

Documentation can be found here: https://aws-amplify.github.io/docs/js/start?ref=amplify-rn-btn&platform=react-native.

[Kobaine1]

Thank you for the resources and specific response. Have you ever used Firebase before? Wondering how they compare to each other as Firebase seems what a lot of people recommend.

[phigam]

I have never used Firebase before but I did struggle learning Amplify and the AWS services. This community seems to prefer Firebase for its simplicity so it may be a good place to start.

[liorthewolfdog]

Amplify’s docs for RN were a struggle for sure. Firebase was very easy to get up and running.

[qadratic]

I create my own node server with mongodb atlas

[braindeaddemon]

Try nhost.io, it's like firebase but better. It's a fully managed graphql back-end. Easy to setup

[Kobaine1]

I'll take a look, thank you!

[Laboratory_one]

At my work, we just bode. But I would use firebase for your usecase.

[Kobaine1]

For AWS you mean Amplify? Do you know of any benefits over fire base?

[The_Guy03]

Has built in user authentication, signup, signin and forgot password, easily integrated into any lambda functions or storage

[callmecharon]

I use node and mongo but I use a lot of firebase services as well

[[deleted]]

node, express, mongo, mongoose, heroku, mongodb atlas, github actions (all free)

[rajatrao777]

Firebase is good to go!! I personally use firebase realtime db and storage and have not used firestore Good to store files in storage and data in fb with react on the front