Firebase runs hot! Don't burn yourself with callbacks. Use promises instead. Fireproof wraps Firebase objects with lightweight promise support.
npm install --save fireproofSee the API documentation here.
The bottom line is this: all Firebase methods are reproduced on a Fireproof object.
By default, Fireproof uses the built-in Promise constructor, which is available in Node > 0.12 and many modern web browsers. You can override this behavior by providing a standards-compliant Promise constructor on Fireproof's constructor, like so:
Fireproof.Promise = require('bluebird');You can also choose to "bless" Fireproof with a promise library that follows the deferral model:
Fireproof.bless(require('Q'));If a Promise constructor is not supplied and none exists natively, Fireproof will explode spectacularly.
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If the corresponding Firebase method has no return value but does something asynchronously, Fireproof returns a promise that fulfills if the interaction succeeds and rejects if an error occurs. This is true of, e.g.,
transaction(),auth(),set(),update(),remove(), andonce(). -
For
on(), Firebase returns the callback method that you passed in. Fireproof returns your wrapped callback method with an extra method,then(), attached. So the callback is effectively a promise! -
For
push(), Firebase returns the reference to the new child. Fireproof does the same, but the reference is also a promise that resolves if the push succeeds and rejects if the push fails. -
All Fireproof objects are themselves promises. Except for the case of
push()mentioned above, their then() is a shortcut forfp.once('value'). This means you can get the value of any Fireproof object at any time just by treating it as a promise!
var Fireproof = require('fireproof'),
Firebase = require('firebase');
var firebase = new Firebase('https://test.firebaseio.com/thing'),
fireproof = new Fireproof(firebase);
fireproof.auth('my_auth_token').then(function() {
console.log('Successfully authenticated.')
}, function(err) {
console.error('Error authenticating to Firebase!');
})IE back to 9.