68 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
68 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Google Firebase: Pros and Cons"
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permalink: "/google-firebase-pros-and-cons"
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description: "Let's look into what Google Firebase really is and the pros and cons of using it for your app development in 2019."
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keywords: ""
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image: "hello-world"
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image-attrib: ""
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---
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<span class="first-letter">I</span>n my [last post](google-firebase-overview), I went through some of my considerations for choosing the backend tech for my projects.
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I then gave an overview of Google Firebase by listing the features it has has to offer for my considerations.
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In this post, let's have a dive into what Firebase really is and the pros and cons of using it for your app development in 2019.<!--more-->
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## What Firebase Really Is
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Google Firebase, first and foremost, is a comprehensive development platform. You can think of it as a suite of services for all your backend needs.
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It offers [all the basic features we want our backend to have](google-firebase-overview) and more.
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You can use it as a backend for developing mobile apps (iOS and Android), web apps (JQuery, Angular, React, Vue, etc.), and even games (C++ and Unity)!
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In its [home page](https://firebase.google.com/), the *long* list of features are categorized into ones you can use to build better apps, improve app quality, and grow your business:
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## Why You Will Want To Use Google Firebase
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This basically means it supports the three pillars of modern app development:
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**1. Development** - authentication, cloud messaging, hosting, remote configuration, testing lab, crash reporting, realtime database, storage
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**2. Analytics** - unlimited reporting (with up to 500 event types), audience segmentation, seemless integrations
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**3. Users Engagement** - AdWords, app indexing, dynamic links, push notifications
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And since it is a Google product, you can expect it to integrate well with other Google products such as Google Ads, Google Marketing, and the Play Store. It can also integrate with other third-party platforms such as Slack and Jira.
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> "Firebase gives you the tools to develop high-quality apps, grow your user base, and earn more money. We cover the essentials so you can monetize your business and focus on your users."
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>
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> -[Firebase Team](https://firebase.google.com/docs)
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It also comes with SDKs, tools, helpers, and an active community to support your backend development.
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So... pretty good huh?
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But no matter how good a platform Google Firebase is, it is far from being perfect.
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That brings us to...
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## Why You Will NOT Want To Use Google Firebase
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1. Limited SDKs
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2. Limited Queries (just main opeartions)
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3. NoSQL Database
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4. Your data is held by Google
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5. You will have to use JavaScript
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6. Firebase Console is still in development
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As I said earlier, Google Firebase is a comprehensive platform. In my future posts I will talk about how to use some of its features and the SDKs that support app development.
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