Firebase - downloading few files - ios

Question

Is there a way to download couple of files (images) using Firebase Storage SDK and live cache those files, so after an image is downloaded the cache is updated?
Can I also observe in another view controller for this cache being updated?
I don't need a whole answer, just maybe a hint where to learn it. I've search through firebase documentation, found some info but I have absolutely no idea how to use it.

Answer 1

Take a look at NSURLCache. Basically what you'll do is, every time you upload a file to Firebase Storage, you can get a download URL and download it, then storeCachedResponse:forRequest: in the URL cache. Since this cache is shared, you can even grab it across activities.
Similarly, on download, you'll want to check for the cached request via cachedResponseForRequest: and if it doesn't exist, perform the download (at which point you cache the request for later).
Long term, we're hoping to enable this behavior for you out of the box, but for now, you can use NSURLCache to make it happen :)

Answer 2

I still haven't found a way to do this from within the Firebase Storage SDK. Here is some code I got off bhlvoong tutorials to cache images using NSCache.
import UIKit
let imageCache = NSCache<AnyObject, AnyObject>()
extension UIImageView {
func loadImageUsingCacheWithUrlString(urlString: String) {
self.image = nil
//check cache for image first
if let cachedImage = imageCache.object(forKey: urlString as NSString) as? UIImage {
self.image = cachedImage
return
}
//otherwise fire off a new download
let url = NSURL(string: urlString)
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url as! URL, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) in
//download hit an error so lets return out
if error != nil {
print(error)
return
}
DispatchQueue.main.async {
if let downloadedImage = UIImage(data: data!) {
imageCache.setObject(downloadedImage, forKey: urlString as NSString)
self.image = downloadedImage
}
}
}).resume()
}
}