Explanation
Do the following:
- Register Firebase as a module in an Angular application.
- Inject the $firebaseArray service into a controller.
- Understand and use the Firebase JavaScript and AngularFire APIs - methods such as
child()and$add(). - Query a Firebase array.
- Use UI Bootstrap to create a modal.
- Use cookies to store information in the user’s web browser.
Problem
Utilyze Angular, Firebase, AngularFire and UI Bootstrap to build a chat application.
Given 40 hours of time to complete the project, I accomplished the following:
- Display a list of available chat rooms.
- Implement a way to create a chat room.
- Allow each chat room to display a list of messages unique to that chat room.
- Implement a way to create a username
- Restrict access to users only.
- Associate messages to usernames.
Solution
Firebase was a good introduction into backend programming, leaving me wanting to learn more. There is little setup required for new developers if you need a database.
Results
This project gave me much needed practice with Angular’s directives, controllers, and services through dependency injection. With limited Firebase documentation, I reached out to my fellow Bloc Slack community of Software Development track students and mentors for assistance and foraged StackOverflow seeking answers.
Conclusion
What were your doubts going into the project?
- I wasn’t sure if I could navigate through and understand the documentation by myself. It was a good introduction to practice the foraging skills needed on a daily basis by developers to seek answers, which I took to heart.
What surprised you the most?
- I was surprised by my retention of knowledge, considering the difficulty of the project.
What would you have done differently?
- I feel that this project only scratches the surface of the capabilities of Firebase. I wish to spend more time practicing Firebase services.
What functionality (if any) would you like to add to this application in the future?
- Create and authenticate accounts for my chat rooms using AngularFire’s Authentication API
- Create admin users
- Allow admins to create private rooms for authorized participants
- Ability to see if another chat room participant is online
- Ability to see when another user is typing a message in my current chat room