How do I save a simple NSString to Firebase in Obj C? - ios

Question

I'm new to Obj-C and having a hard time following the instructions available from Firebase. How do I save a simple NSString to the Firebase database?
I'm trying to save a unique user identifier and then be able to tie a zip code to it. I've made it to this step in the instructions, but my code (below) won't save to Firebase: https://firebase.google.com/docs/database/ios/save-data
#import "ZipCodeVC.h"
#import <FirebaseStorage/FirebaseStorage.h>
#import <FirebaseDatabase/FirebaseDatabase.h>
#interface ZipCodeVC ()
#property FIRDatabaseReference *ref;
#end
#implementation ZipCodeVC
- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
[self.ref setValue:#"Test" forKey:#"Testing 1"];
}
#end
On a similar note, does anyone know of a good Firebase guide for Objective-C apart from what's available from Firebase? Most of the guides I've found are for swift.

Answer 1

First of all, you are creating a variable to a Firebase reference, but never initializing it.
Step 1: Initialize your ref:
self.ref=[[FIRDatabase database]reference];
Step 2: Save to your desired path (Testing 1 in this case)
[[self.ref child:#"Testing 1"] setValue:#"Test"];
You also may need to add Firebase to your App Transport Security Settings (ever since Apple increased their security on HTTP links. To do this, go to your info.plist file, then add a new key called "App Transport Security Settings". Then, add a sub-key called "Allow Arbitrary Loads" and make it a boolean with value YES. Then add a dictionary sub-key named "Exception Domains" and add a string key under that with value: "https://console.firebase.google.com". Now, your app is allowed to load the firebase console. It should look something like this:
Last step:
Modify your read/write rules by going to Database->Rules in your Firebase console. Then, create 2 lines:
".read":true,
".write":true
This allows you to write data to the Firebase console from any client. You should now be all set up to save data to Firebase from iOS.