Firebase, how observe works? - ios

Question

I honestly I have tried to figure out when to call ref.removeAllObservers or ref.removeObservers, but I'm confused. I feed I'm doing something wrong here.
var noMoreDuplicators = [String]()
func pull () {
if let myIdi = FIRAuth.auth()?.currentUser?.uid {
let ref = FIRDatabase.database().reference()
ref.child("users").queryOrderedByKey().observe(.value, with: { snapshot in
if let userers = snapshot.value as? [String : AnyObject] {
for (_, velt) in userers {
let newUser = usera()
if let thierId = velt["uid"] as? String {
if thierId != myIdi {
if let userName = velt["Username"] as? String, let name = velt["Full Name"] as? String, let userIdent = velt["uid"] as? String {
newUser.name = name
newUser.username = userName
newUser.uid = userIdent
if self.noMoreDuplicators.contains(userIdent) {
print("user already added")
} else {
self.users.append(newUser)
self.noMoreDuplicators.append(userIdent)
}
}
}
}
}
self.tableViewSearchUser.reloadData()
}
})
ref.removeAllObservers()
}
}
Am I only supposed to call removeAllObservers when observing a single event, or...? And when should I call it, if call it at all?

Answer 1

From official documentation for observe(_:with:) :
This method is used to listen for data changes at a particular location. This is
the primary way to read data from the Firebase Database. Your block
will be triggered for the initial data and again whenever the data
changes.
Now since this method will be triggered everytime the data changes, so it depends on your usecase , if you want to observe the changes in the database as well, if not then again from the official documentation:
Use removeObserver(withHandle:) to stop receiving updates.
Now if you only want to observe the database once use observeSingleEvent(of:with:) , again from official documentation:
This is equivalent to observe:with:, except the block is
immediately canceled after the initial data is returned
Means that you wont need to call removeObserver(withHandle:) for this as it will be immediately canceled after the initial data is returned.
Now lastly , if you want to remove all observers , you can use this removeAllObserver but note that:
This method removes all observers at the current reference, but does
not remove any observers at child references. removeAllObservers must
be called again for each child reference where a listener was
established to remove the observers

Answer 2

Actually, you don't need to call removeAllObservers when you're observing a single event, because this observer get only called once and then immediately removed.
If you're using observe(.value) or observe(.childAdded), and others though, you would definitely need to remove all your observers before leaving the view to preserve your battery life and memory usage.
You would do that inside the viewDidDisappear or viewWillDisappear method, like so:
override func viewWillDisappear(_ animated: Bool) {
super.viewWillDisappear(animated)
// Remove your observers here:
yourRef.removeAllObservers()
}
Note: you could also use removeObserver(withHandle:) method.