Firebase
Infrastructure
backend as a service
SHOW HN2012
526points
137comments
#6of 1,677 in 2012
Top 1%of 2012 by points
How HN took it
DebatedReal support and real criticism
30 positive, 28 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 21 critical, out of 81 comments about the project. Thread score +0.07.
Idea: 11 for, 4 againstPrivacy: 1 for, 10 againstDesign: 7 for, 0 againstExecution: 4 for, 2 againstDocs: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Fast development, forget the backend exists
From 3 comments
I used Firebase to build thereelbox.com, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It took 2-3 hours from starting into the documentation to completed/nobugs/pushed to production. Credit for…
pkrein on HNI was part of the beta and really enjoyed working with Firebase it was like working only in the browser, i could forget there was a backend. Once you start playing with it you…
jdavid on HNIf I understand right: instead of having to worry about calling a REST API for a back-end data store I can just have JS objects persist automatically and synchronize between…
amirnathoo on HN
Excellent interactive tutorial and documentation
From 3 comments
This looks really good. It seems to be very similar to the Hydna app that was on HN yesterday. For the rest of us, that has to be a win. Can't wait to see how things develop with…
michaelmartin on HNCongrats on the launch of Firebase and absolutely love the code demo; it hooks you in. At the end of the demo you are asked if you'd like early access. Definitely.
Rotor on HNWhat I like most about Firebase so far compared to Meteor, is that I can actually read about Firebase and its excellent documentation from any machine with any web browser! Well…
drucken on HN
Objections
No security or authentication; clients can read and modify all data
From 5 comments
Just out of curiosity. Are you aware that all your data is fully editable through the admin panel? Or is it just a toy project and it doesn't really matter?
nigma on HNI'll be honest, it's kind of fun to go to [REDACTED URL] and delete the list of movies and watch them repopulate as people load the site... Sorry, I'll stop. Seriously though,…
tlrobinson on HNLooks very nice. But just like meteor, doesn't have any authentication or authorisation, which sadly makes them just toys for now. Looking forward to both projects becoming usable.
lucian1900 on HNThis is cool. But can someone explain how data is secured in Firebase or Meteor? From the Leader Board sample: // Use setWithPriority to put the name / score in Firebase, and set…
IanDrake on HNA real-time client-side library that ties in to their database hosting service, basically. Also, if you want to have any non-realtime parts of your web app that do server-side…
webjprgm on HN
Cloning risk since app logic is client-side JavaScript
From 2 comments
Here's my big concern: If my entire app is client-based JavaScript, wouldn't that make cloning my app as simple as copying all of the JavaScript and other asset files and then…
smoody on HNIt's not that client-side applications are easier to reverse-engineer. If the application is all client-side, it can literally just be downloaded and reused by a would-be…
nick_urban on HN
Unclear pricing and lock-in to a proprietary hosted service
From 1 comment
Seems slightly misleading with the pitch about "no servers". More like, "proprietary Javascript framework locked to proprietary hosted cloud service, no information about…
zmmmmm on HN
Real-time name is misleading or overused
From 2 comments
Can't people find an alternative to the word "real-time" that hasn't already been used for 30 years to mean something entirely different? (As in, real-time systems, real-time…
javert on HN"real-time" has a very specific meaning when it comes to software, don't dillute it please.
mahmud on HN
Requests
Add security and permissions
From 3 comments
I'll be honest, it's kind of fun to go to [REDACTED URL] and delete the list of movies and watch them repopulate as people load the site... Sorry, I'll stop. Seriously though,…
tlrobinson on HNA real-time client-side library that ties in to their database hosting service, basically. Also, if you want to have any non-realtime parts of your web app that do server-side…
webjprgm on HNAnother great step in the right direction. That being said, I do believe the hardest part of all these attempts to abstract backends is authentication and security models. It…
arturadib on HN
Explain infrastructure and how it works
From 2 comments
I just asked them twice on their chat to describe their infrastructure and they won't do it, at least yet. I realize this is in beta, and it's early, but am I the only one who…
trimbo on HNI couldn't find any (easily accessible) info about what it actually uses to communicate. Is it long-polling, websockets, something else? What kind of browser compliance is there?
ique on HN
Simpler beginner tutorial
From 1 comment
I'm a non-coder. A very simple guide to make a very simple, understandable web-app would be the killer feature for me. There is a tutorial for a chat-app but that's way over my…
MrJagil on HN
Questions
How does it differ from Meteor
From 3 comments
What is the difference between this and let's say 'Meteor'?
asselinpaul on HNWhat are the main differences between this and Meteor? What a strange coincidence that two nearly identical platforms launch within days of each other.
rgbrgb on HNLooks similar to what Meteor was trying to achieve?
darylteo on HN
Is it affiliated with firebase.co
From 1 comment
Really interesting idea, look forward to giving it a whirl in a moment. Quick question, are you affiliated with firebase.co? They seem to be in a similar field.
_dtw on HN
What transport does it use, websockets or long-polling
From 1 comment
I couldn't find any (easily accessible) info about what it actually uses to communicate. Is it long-polling, websockets, something else? What kind of browser compliance is there?
ique on HN
Alternatives named
Meteor
From 2 comments
What is the difference between this and let's say 'Meteor'?
asselinpaul on HNLooks similar to what Meteor was trying to achieve?
darylteo on HN
CouchDB and CouchApp
From 2 comments
Can someone explain what kind use-cases there are for a database where the client can read and write directly against the database? CouchDB could do this (via CouchApp), but I…
wavephorm on HNGlad to see interest in the idea. It's not much different from what people have been doing with projects like http://couchapp.org or http://unhosted.org/ for some time. Once you…
jchrisa on HN
Pusher, PubNub, spire.io
From 1 comment
For those interested in this kind of service there are a variety of others, including our own (spire.io), as well as Pusher, PubNub, and others.
spladow on HN