Related
I'm trying to test out Firebase to allow users to post comments using push. I want to display the data I retrieve with the following;
fbl.child('sell').limit(20).on("value", function(fbdata) {
// handle data display here
}
The problem is the data is returned in order of oldest to newest - I want it in reversed order. Can Firebase do this?
Since this answer was written, Firebase has added a feature that allows ordering by any child or by value. So there are now four ways to order data: by key, by value, by priority, or by the value of any named child. See this blog post that introduces the new ordering capabilities.
The basic approaches remain the same though:
1. Add a child property with the inverted timestamp and then order on that.
2. Read the children in ascending order and then invert them on the client.
Firebase supports retrieving child nodes of a collection in two ways:
by name
by priority
What you're getting now is by name, which happens to be chronological. That's no coincidence btw: when you push an item into a collection, the name is generated to ensure the children are ordered in this way. To quote the Firebase documentation for push:
The unique name generated by push() is prefixed with a client-generated timestamp so that the resulting list will be chronologically-sorted.
The Firebase guide on ordered data has this to say on the topic:
How Data is Ordered
By default, children at a Firebase node are sorted lexicographically by name. Using push() can generate child names that naturally sort chronologically, but many applications require their data to be sorted in other ways. Firebase lets developers specify the ordering of items in a list by specifying a custom priority for each item.
The simplest way to get the behavior you want is to also specify an always-decreasing priority when you add the item:
var ref = new Firebase('https://your.firebaseio.com/sell');
var item = ref.push();
item.setWithPriority(yourObject, 0 - Date.now());
Update
You'll also have to retrieve the children differently:
fbl.child('sell').startAt().limitToLast(20).on('child_added', function(fbdata) {
console.log(fbdata.exportVal());
})
In my test using on('child_added' ensures that the last few children added are returned in reverse chronological order. Using on('value' on the other hand, returns them in the order of their name.
Be sure to read the section "Reading ordered data", which explains the usage of the child_* events to retrieve (ordered) children.
A bin to demonstrate this: http://jsbin.com/nonawe/3/watch?js,console
Since firebase 2.0.x you can use limitLast() to achieve that:
fbl.child('sell').orderByValue().limitLast(20).on("value", function(fbdataSnapshot) {
// fbdataSnapshot is returned in the ascending order
// you will still need to order these 20 items in
// in a descending order
}
Here's a link to the announcement: More querying capabilities in Firebase
To augment Frank's answer, it's also possible to grab the most recent records--even if you haven't bothered to order them using priorities--by simply using endAt().limit(x) like this demo:
var fb = new Firebase(URL);
// listen for all changes and update
fb.endAt().limit(100).on('value', update);
// print the output of our array
function update(snap) {
var list = [];
snap.forEach(function(ss) {
var data = ss.val();
data['.priority'] = ss.getPriority();
data['.name'] = ss.name();
list.unshift(data);
});
// print/process the results...
}
Note that this is quite performant even up to perhaps a thousand records (assuming the payloads are small). For more robust usages, Frank's answer is authoritative and much more scalable.
This brute force can also be optimized to work with bigger data or more records by doing things like monitoring child_added/child_removed/child_moved events in lieu of value, and using a debounce to apply DOM updates in bulk instead of individually.
DOM updates, naturally, are a stinker regardless of the approach, once you get into the hundreds of elements, so the debounce approach (or a React.js solution, which is essentially an uber debounce) is a great tool to have.
There is really no way but seems we have the recyclerview we can have this
query=mCommentsReference.orderByChild("date_added");
query.keepSynced(true);
// Initialize Views
mRecyclerView = (RecyclerView) view.findViewById(R.id.recyclerView);
mManager = new LinearLayoutManager(getContext());
// mManager.setReverseLayout(false);
mManager.setReverseLayout(true);
mManager.setStackFromEnd(true);
mRecyclerView.setHasFixedSize(true);
mRecyclerView.setLayoutManager(mManager);
I have a date variable (long) and wanted to keep the newest items on top of the list. So what I did was:
Add a new long field 'dateInverse'
Add a new method called 'getDateInverse', which just returns: Long.MAX_VALUE - date;
Create my query with: .orderByChild("dateInverse")
Presto! :p
You are searching limitTolast(Int x) .This will give you the last "x" higher elements of your database (they are in ascending order) but they are the "x" higher elements
if you got in your database {10,300,150,240,2,24,220}
this method:
myFirebaseRef.orderByChild("highScore").limitToLast(4)
will retrive you : {150,220,240,300}
In Android there is a way to actually reverse the data in an Arraylist of objects through the Adapter. In my case I could not use the LayoutManager to reverse the results in descending order since I was using a horizontal Recyclerview to display the data. Setting the following parameters to the recyclerview messed up my UI experience:
llManager.setReverseLayout(true);
llManager.setStackFromEnd(true);
The only working way I found around this was through the BindViewHolder method of the RecyclerView adapter:
#Override
public void onBindViewHolder(final RecyclerView.ViewHolder holder, int position) {
final SuperPost superPost = superList.get(getItemCount() - position - 1);
}
Hope this answer will help all the devs out there who are struggling with this issue in Firebase.
Firebase: How to display a thread of items in reverse order with a limit for each request and an indicator for a "load more" button.
This will get the last 10 items of the list
FBRef.child("childName")
.limitToLast(loadMoreLimit) // loadMoreLimit = 10 for example
This will get the last 10 items. Grab the id of the last record in the list and save for the load more functionality. Next, convert the collection of objects into and an array and do a list.reverse().
LOAD MORE Functionality: The next call will do two things, it will get the next sequence of list items based on the reference id from the first request and give you an indicator if you need to display the "load more" button.
this.FBRef
.child("childName")
.endAt(null, lastThreadId) // Get this from the previous step
.limitToLast(loadMoreLimit+2)
You will need to strip the first and last item of this object collection. The first item is the reference to get this list. The last item is an indicator for the show more button.
I have a bunch of other logic that will keep everything clean. You will need to add this code only for the load more functionality.
list = snapObjectAsArray; // The list is an array from snapObject
lastItemId = key; // get the first key of the list
if (list.length < loadMoreLimit+1) {
lastItemId = false;
}
if (list.length > loadMoreLimit+1) {
list.pop();
}
if (list.length > loadMoreLimit) {
list.shift();
}
// Return the list.reverse() and lastItemId
// If lastItemId is an ID, it will be used for the next reference and a flag to show the "load more" button.
}
I'm using ReactFire for easy Firebase integration.
Basically, it helps me storing the datas into the component state, as an array. Then, all I have to use is the reverse() function (read more)
Here is how I achieve this :
import React, { Component, PropTypes } from 'react';
import ReactMixin from 'react-mixin';
import ReactFireMixin from 'reactfire';
import Firebase from '../../../utils/firebaseUtils'; // Firebase.initializeApp(config);
#ReactMixin.decorate(ReactFireMixin)
export default class Add extends Component {
constructor(args) {
super(args);
this.state = {
articles: []
};
}
componentWillMount() {
let ref = Firebase.database().ref('articles').orderByChild('insertDate').limitToLast(10);
this.bindAsArray(ref, 'articles'); // bind retrieved data to this.state.articles
}
render() {
return (
<div>
{
this.state.articles.reverse().map(function(article) {
return <div>{article.title}</div>
})
}
</div>
);
}
}
There is a better way. You should order by negative server timestamp. How to get negative server timestamp even offline? There is an hidden field which helps. Related snippet from documentation:
var offsetRef = new Firebase("https://<YOUR-FIREBASE-APP>.firebaseio.com/.info/serverTimeOffset");
offsetRef.on("value", function(snap) {
var offset = snap.val();
var estimatedServerTimeMs = new Date().getTime() + offset;
});
To add to Dave Vávra's answer, I use a negative timestamp as my sort_key like so
Setting
const timestamp = new Date().getTime();
const data = {
name: 'John Doe',
city: 'New York',
sort_key: timestamp * -1 // Gets the negative value of the timestamp
}
Getting
const ref = firebase.database().ref('business-images').child(id);
const query = ref.orderByChild('sort_key');
return $firebaseArray(query); // AngularFire function
This fetches all objects from newest to oldest. You can also $indexOn the sortKey to make it run even faster
I had this problem too, I found a very simple solution to this that doesn't involved manipulating the data in anyway. If you are rending the result to the DOM, in a list of some sort. You can use flexbox and setup a class to reverse the elements in their container.
.reverse {
display: flex;
flex-direction: column-reverse;
}
myarray.reverse(); or this.myitems = items.map(item => item).reverse();
I did this by prepend.
query.orderByChild('sell').limitToLast(4).on("value", function(snapshot){
snapshot.forEach(function (childSnapshot) {
// PREPEND
});
});
Someone has pointed out that there are 2 ways to do this:
Manipulate the data client-side
Make a query that will order the data
The easiest way that I have found to do this is to use option 1, but through a LinkedList. I just append each of the objects to the front of the stack. It is flexible enough to still allow the list to be used in a ListView or RecyclerView. This way even though they come in order oldest to newest, you can still view, or retrieve, newest to oldest.
You can add a column named orderColumn where you save time as
Long refrenceTime = "large future time";
Long currentTime = "currentTime";
Long order = refrenceTime - currentTime;
now save Long order in column named orderColumn and when you retrieve data
as orderBy(orderColumn) you will get what you need.
just use reverse() on the array , suppose if you are storing the values to an array items[] then do a this.items.reverse()
ref.subscribe(snapshots => {
this.loading.dismiss();
this.items = [];
snapshots.forEach(snapshot => {
this.items.push(snapshot);
});
**this.items.reverse();**
},
For me it was limitToLast that worked. I also found out that limitLast is NOT a function:)
const query = messagesRef.orderBy('createdAt', 'asc').limitToLast(25);
The above is what worked for me.
PRINT in reverse order
Let's think outside the box... If your information will be printed directly into user's screen (without any content that needs to be modified in a consecutive order, like a sum or something), simply print from bottom to top.
So, instead of inserting each new block of content to the end of the print space (A += B), add that block to the beginning (A = B+A).
If you'll include the elements as a consecutive ordered list, the DOM can put the numbers for you if you insert each element as a List Item (<li>) inside an Ordered Lists (<ol>).
This way you save space from your database, avoiding unnecesary reversed data.
I'm trying to test out Firebase to allow users to post comments using push. I want to display the data I retrieve with the following;
fbl.child('sell').limit(20).on("value", function(fbdata) {
// handle data display here
}
The problem is the data is returned in order of oldest to newest - I want it in reversed order. Can Firebase do this?
Since this answer was written, Firebase has added a feature that allows ordering by any child or by value. So there are now four ways to order data: by key, by value, by priority, or by the value of any named child. See this blog post that introduces the new ordering capabilities.
The basic approaches remain the same though:
1. Add a child property with the inverted timestamp and then order on that.
2. Read the children in ascending order and then invert them on the client.
Firebase supports retrieving child nodes of a collection in two ways:
by name
by priority
What you're getting now is by name, which happens to be chronological. That's no coincidence btw: when you push an item into a collection, the name is generated to ensure the children are ordered in this way. To quote the Firebase documentation for push:
The unique name generated by push() is prefixed with a client-generated timestamp so that the resulting list will be chronologically-sorted.
The Firebase guide on ordered data has this to say on the topic:
How Data is Ordered
By default, children at a Firebase node are sorted lexicographically by name. Using push() can generate child names that naturally sort chronologically, but many applications require their data to be sorted in other ways. Firebase lets developers specify the ordering of items in a list by specifying a custom priority for each item.
The simplest way to get the behavior you want is to also specify an always-decreasing priority when you add the item:
var ref = new Firebase('https://your.firebaseio.com/sell');
var item = ref.push();
item.setWithPriority(yourObject, 0 - Date.now());
Update
You'll also have to retrieve the children differently:
fbl.child('sell').startAt().limitToLast(20).on('child_added', function(fbdata) {
console.log(fbdata.exportVal());
})
In my test using on('child_added' ensures that the last few children added are returned in reverse chronological order. Using on('value' on the other hand, returns them in the order of their name.
Be sure to read the section "Reading ordered data", which explains the usage of the child_* events to retrieve (ordered) children.
A bin to demonstrate this: http://jsbin.com/nonawe/3/watch?js,console
Since firebase 2.0.x you can use limitLast() to achieve that:
fbl.child('sell').orderByValue().limitLast(20).on("value", function(fbdataSnapshot) {
// fbdataSnapshot is returned in the ascending order
// you will still need to order these 20 items in
// in a descending order
}
Here's a link to the announcement: More querying capabilities in Firebase
To augment Frank's answer, it's also possible to grab the most recent records--even if you haven't bothered to order them using priorities--by simply using endAt().limit(x) like this demo:
var fb = new Firebase(URL);
// listen for all changes and update
fb.endAt().limit(100).on('value', update);
// print the output of our array
function update(snap) {
var list = [];
snap.forEach(function(ss) {
var data = ss.val();
data['.priority'] = ss.getPriority();
data['.name'] = ss.name();
list.unshift(data);
});
// print/process the results...
}
Note that this is quite performant even up to perhaps a thousand records (assuming the payloads are small). For more robust usages, Frank's answer is authoritative and much more scalable.
This brute force can also be optimized to work with bigger data or more records by doing things like monitoring child_added/child_removed/child_moved events in lieu of value, and using a debounce to apply DOM updates in bulk instead of individually.
DOM updates, naturally, are a stinker regardless of the approach, once you get into the hundreds of elements, so the debounce approach (or a React.js solution, which is essentially an uber debounce) is a great tool to have.
There is really no way but seems we have the recyclerview we can have this
query=mCommentsReference.orderByChild("date_added");
query.keepSynced(true);
// Initialize Views
mRecyclerView = (RecyclerView) view.findViewById(R.id.recyclerView);
mManager = new LinearLayoutManager(getContext());
// mManager.setReverseLayout(false);
mManager.setReverseLayout(true);
mManager.setStackFromEnd(true);
mRecyclerView.setHasFixedSize(true);
mRecyclerView.setLayoutManager(mManager);
I have a date variable (long) and wanted to keep the newest items on top of the list. So what I did was:
Add a new long field 'dateInverse'
Add a new method called 'getDateInverse', which just returns: Long.MAX_VALUE - date;
Create my query with: .orderByChild("dateInverse")
Presto! :p
You are searching limitTolast(Int x) .This will give you the last "x" higher elements of your database (they are in ascending order) but they are the "x" higher elements
if you got in your database {10,300,150,240,2,24,220}
this method:
myFirebaseRef.orderByChild("highScore").limitToLast(4)
will retrive you : {150,220,240,300}
In Android there is a way to actually reverse the data in an Arraylist of objects through the Adapter. In my case I could not use the LayoutManager to reverse the results in descending order since I was using a horizontal Recyclerview to display the data. Setting the following parameters to the recyclerview messed up my UI experience:
llManager.setReverseLayout(true);
llManager.setStackFromEnd(true);
The only working way I found around this was through the BindViewHolder method of the RecyclerView adapter:
#Override
public void onBindViewHolder(final RecyclerView.ViewHolder holder, int position) {
final SuperPost superPost = superList.get(getItemCount() - position - 1);
}
Hope this answer will help all the devs out there who are struggling with this issue in Firebase.
Firebase: How to display a thread of items in reverse order with a limit for each request and an indicator for a "load more" button.
This will get the last 10 items of the list
FBRef.child("childName")
.limitToLast(loadMoreLimit) // loadMoreLimit = 10 for example
This will get the last 10 items. Grab the id of the last record in the list and save for the load more functionality. Next, convert the collection of objects into and an array and do a list.reverse().
LOAD MORE Functionality: The next call will do two things, it will get the next sequence of list items based on the reference id from the first request and give you an indicator if you need to display the "load more" button.
this.FBRef
.child("childName")
.endAt(null, lastThreadId) // Get this from the previous step
.limitToLast(loadMoreLimit+2)
You will need to strip the first and last item of this object collection. The first item is the reference to get this list. The last item is an indicator for the show more button.
I have a bunch of other logic that will keep everything clean. You will need to add this code only for the load more functionality.
list = snapObjectAsArray; // The list is an array from snapObject
lastItemId = key; // get the first key of the list
if (list.length < loadMoreLimit+1) {
lastItemId = false;
}
if (list.length > loadMoreLimit+1) {
list.pop();
}
if (list.length > loadMoreLimit) {
list.shift();
}
// Return the list.reverse() and lastItemId
// If lastItemId is an ID, it will be used for the next reference and a flag to show the "load more" button.
}
I'm using ReactFire for easy Firebase integration.
Basically, it helps me storing the datas into the component state, as an array. Then, all I have to use is the reverse() function (read more)
Here is how I achieve this :
import React, { Component, PropTypes } from 'react';
import ReactMixin from 'react-mixin';
import ReactFireMixin from 'reactfire';
import Firebase from '../../../utils/firebaseUtils'; // Firebase.initializeApp(config);
#ReactMixin.decorate(ReactFireMixin)
export default class Add extends Component {
constructor(args) {
super(args);
this.state = {
articles: []
};
}
componentWillMount() {
let ref = Firebase.database().ref('articles').orderByChild('insertDate').limitToLast(10);
this.bindAsArray(ref, 'articles'); // bind retrieved data to this.state.articles
}
render() {
return (
<div>
{
this.state.articles.reverse().map(function(article) {
return <div>{article.title}</div>
})
}
</div>
);
}
}
There is a better way. You should order by negative server timestamp. How to get negative server timestamp even offline? There is an hidden field which helps. Related snippet from documentation:
var offsetRef = new Firebase("https://<YOUR-FIREBASE-APP>.firebaseio.com/.info/serverTimeOffset");
offsetRef.on("value", function(snap) {
var offset = snap.val();
var estimatedServerTimeMs = new Date().getTime() + offset;
});
To add to Dave Vávra's answer, I use a negative timestamp as my sort_key like so
Setting
const timestamp = new Date().getTime();
const data = {
name: 'John Doe',
city: 'New York',
sort_key: timestamp * -1 // Gets the negative value of the timestamp
}
Getting
const ref = firebase.database().ref('business-images').child(id);
const query = ref.orderByChild('sort_key');
return $firebaseArray(query); // AngularFire function
This fetches all objects from newest to oldest. You can also $indexOn the sortKey to make it run even faster
I had this problem too, I found a very simple solution to this that doesn't involved manipulating the data in anyway. If you are rending the result to the DOM, in a list of some sort. You can use flexbox and setup a class to reverse the elements in their container.
.reverse {
display: flex;
flex-direction: column-reverse;
}
myarray.reverse(); or this.myitems = items.map(item => item).reverse();
I did this by prepend.
query.orderByChild('sell').limitToLast(4).on("value", function(snapshot){
snapshot.forEach(function (childSnapshot) {
// PREPEND
});
});
Someone has pointed out that there are 2 ways to do this:
Manipulate the data client-side
Make a query that will order the data
The easiest way that I have found to do this is to use option 1, but through a LinkedList. I just append each of the objects to the front of the stack. It is flexible enough to still allow the list to be used in a ListView or RecyclerView. This way even though they come in order oldest to newest, you can still view, or retrieve, newest to oldest.
You can add a column named orderColumn where you save time as
Long refrenceTime = "large future time";
Long currentTime = "currentTime";
Long order = refrenceTime - currentTime;
now save Long order in column named orderColumn and when you retrieve data
as orderBy(orderColumn) you will get what you need.
just use reverse() on the array , suppose if you are storing the values to an array items[] then do a this.items.reverse()
ref.subscribe(snapshots => {
this.loading.dismiss();
this.items = [];
snapshots.forEach(snapshot => {
this.items.push(snapshot);
});
**this.items.reverse();**
},
For me it was limitToLast that worked. I also found out that limitLast is NOT a function:)
const query = messagesRef.orderBy('createdAt', 'asc').limitToLast(25);
The above is what worked for me.
PRINT in reverse order
Let's think outside the box... If your information will be printed directly into user's screen (without any content that needs to be modified in a consecutive order, like a sum or something), simply print from bottom to top.
So, instead of inserting each new block of content to the end of the print space (A += B), add that block to the beginning (A = B+A).
If you'll include the elements as a consecutive ordered list, the DOM can put the numbers for you if you insert each element as a List Item (<li>) inside an Ordered Lists (<ol>).
This way you save space from your database, avoiding unnecesary reversed data.
I am importing a large amount of data from a csv file, (file size is over 100MB)
the code i'm using looks like this :
def errorLignes = []
def index = 1
csvFile.toCsvReader(['charset':'UTF-8']).eachLine { tokens ->
if (index % 100 == 0) cleanUpGorm()
index++
def order = Orders.findByReferenceAndOrganization(tokens[0],organization)
if (!order) {
order = new Orders()
}
if (tokens[1]){
def user = User.findByReferenceAndOrganization(tokens[1],organization)
if (user){
order.user = user
}else{
errorLignes.add(tokens)
}
}
if (tokens[2]){
def customer = Customer.findByCustomCodeAndOrganization(tokens[2],organization)
if (customer){
order.customer = customer
}else{
errorLignes.add(tokens)
}
}
if (tokens[3]){
order.orderType = Integer.parseInt(tokens[3])
}
// etc.....................
order.save()
}
and i'm using the cleanUpGorm method to clean session after each 100 entries
def cleanUpGorm() {
println "clean up gorm"
def session = sessionFactory.currentSession
session.flush()
session.clear()
propertyInstanceMap.get().clear()
}
I also turned 2nd level cache off
hibernate {
cache.use_second_level_cache = false
cache.use_query_cache = false
cache.provider_class = 'net.sf.ehcache.hibernate.EhCacheProvider'
}
the grails version of the project is 2.0.4 and as database i am using mysql
for every entry , i am doing 3 calls to a find
to check if the order already exists
to check if user is correct
to check if customer is correct
and finally i'm saving the order instance
the import process is too slow, i am wondering how can I speed up and optimise this code.
EDIT :
I found that the searchable plugin is also making it slower .
so , to get around this , I used the command :
searchableService.stopMirroring()
But it still not fast enough,I am finally changing the code to use groovy sql instead
This found this blog entry very useful:
http://naleid.com/blog/2009/10/01/batch-import-performance-with-grails-and-mysql/
You are already cleaning up GORM, but try cleaning every 100 entries:
def propertyInstanceMap = org.codehaus.groovy.grails.plugins.DomainClassGrailsPlugin.PROPERTY_INSTANCE_MAP
propertyInstanceMap.get().clear()
Creating database indexes might help aswell and use default-storage-engine=innodb instead of MyISAM.
I'm also in the process of writing a number of services that will accomplish loads of very large datasets (multiple files of up to ~17million rows each). I initially tried the cleanUpGorm method you use, but found that, whilst it did improve things, the loading was still slow. Here's what I did to make it much faster:
Investigate what it is that is causing the app to actually be slow. I installed the Grails Melody plugin, then did a run-app then opened a browser at /monitoring. I could then see which routines took time to execute and what the worst-performing queries actually were.
Many of the Grails GORM methods map to a SQL ... where ... clause. You need to ensure that you have an index for each item used in a where clause for each query that you want to make faster, otherwise the method will become considerably slower the bigger your dataset is. This includes putting indexes on the id and version columns that are injected into each of your domain classes.
Ensure you have indexes set up for all of your hasMany and belongsTo relationships.
If the performance is still too slow, use Spring Batch. Even if you've never used it before, it should take you no time at all to set up a batch parse of a CSV file to parse into Grails domain objects. I suggest you use the grails-spring-batch plugin to do this and use the examples here to get a working implementation going quickly. It's extremely fast, very configurable and you don't have to mess around with cleaning up the session.
I had used batch insert while insert records, this is much faster than gorm cleanup method. Below example describes you how to implement it.
Date startTime = new Date()
Session session = sessionFactory.openSession();
Transaction tx = session.beginTransaction();
(1..50000).each {counter ->
Person person = new Person()
person.firstName = "abc"
person.middleName = "abc"
person.lastName = "abc"
person.address = "abc"
person.favouriteGame = "abc"
person.favouriteActor = "abc"
session.save(person)
if(counter.mod(100)==0) {
session.flush();
session.clear();
}
if(counter.mod(10000)==0) {
Date endTime =new Date()
println "Record inserted Counter =>"+counter+" Time =>"+TimeCategory.minus(endTime,startTime)
}
}
tx.commit();
session.close();
So this is what I ended up with to get realtime starring/liking (of communities, in my case) working, with a Firebase datastore. It's a mess and surely I'm missing some fundamentals.
Here my element gets communities, each as a Map community stored in an observed List communities. It has to rewrite that List several times as it changes each community Map based on the results of the changed star count and the user's starred state, and some other fun:
getCommunities() {
// Since we call this method a second time after user
// signed in, clear the communities list before we recreate it.
if (communities.length > 0) { communities.clear(); }
var firebaseRoot = new db.Firebase(firebaseLocation);
var communityRef = firebaseRoot.child('/communities');
// TODO: Undo the limit of 20; https://github.com/firebase/firebase-dart/issues/8
communityRef.limit(20).onChildAdded.listen((e) {
var community = e.snapshot.val();
// snapshot.name is Firebase's ID, i.e. "the name of the Firebase location",
// so we'll add that to our local item list.
community['id'] = e.snapshot.name();
print(community['id']);
// If the user is signed in, see if they've starred this community.
if (app.user != null) {
firebaseRoot.child('/users/' + app.user.username + '/communities/' + community['id']).onValue.listen((e) {
if (e.snapshot.val() == null) {
community['userStarred'] = false;
// TODO: Add community star_count?!
} else {
community['userStarred'] = true;
}
print("${community['userStarred']}, star count: ${community['star_count']}");
// Replace the community in the observed list w/ our updated copy.
communities
..removeWhere((oldItem) => oldItem['alias'] == community['alias'])
..add(community)
..sort((m1, m2) => m1["updatedDate"].compareTo(m2["updatedDate"]));
communities = toObservable(communities.reversed.toList());
});
}
// If no updated date, use the created date.
if (community['updatedDate'] == null) {
community['updatedDate'] = community['createdDate'];
}
// Handle the case where no star count yet.
if (community['star_count'] == null) {
community['star_count'] = 0;
}
// The live-date-time element needs parsed dates.
community['updatedDate'] = DateTime.parse(community['updatedDate']);
community['createdDate'] = DateTime.parse(community['createdDate']);
// Listen for realtime changes to the star count.
communityRef.child(community['alias'] + '/star_count').onValue.listen((e) {
int newCount = e.snapshot.val();
community['star_count'] = newCount;
// Replace the community in the observed list w/ our updated copy.
// TODO: Re-writing the list each time is ridiculous!
communities
..removeWhere((oldItem) => oldItem['alias'] == community['alias'])
..add(community)
..sort((m1, m2) => m1["updatedDate"].compareTo(m2["updatedDate"]));
communities = toObservable(communities.reversed.toList());
});
// Insert each new community into the list.
communities.add(community);
// Sort the list by the item's updatedDate, then reverse it.
communities.sort((m1, m2) => m1["updatedDate"].compareTo(m2["updatedDate"]));
communities = toObservable(communities.reversed.toList());
});
}
Here we toggle the star, which again replaces the observed communities List a few times as we update the count in the affected community Maps and thus rewrite the List to reflect that:
toggleStar(Event e, var detail, Element target) {
// Don't fire the core-item's on-click, just the icon's.
e.stopPropagation();
if (app.user == null) {
app.showMessage("Kindly sign in first.", "important");
return;
}
bool isStarred = (target.classes.contains("selected"));
var community = communities.firstWhere((i) => i['id'] == target.dataset['id']);
var firebaseRoot = new db.Firebase(firebaseLocation);
var starredCommunityRef = firebaseRoot.child('/users/' + app.user.username + '/communities/' + community['id']);
var communityRef = firebaseRoot.child('/communities/' + community['id']);
if (isStarred) {
// If it's starred, time to unstar it.
community['userStarred'] = false;
starredCommunityRef.remove();
// Update the star count.
communityRef.child('/star_count').transaction((currentCount) {
if (currentCount == null || currentCount == 0) {
community['star_count'] = 0;
return 0;
} else {
community['star_count'] = currentCount - 1;
return currentCount - 1;
}
});
// Update the list of users who starred.
communityRef.child('/star_users/' + app.user.username).remove();
} else {
// If it's not starred, time to star it.
community['userStarred'] = true;
starredCommunityRef.set(true);
// Update the star count.
communityRef.child('/star_count').transaction((currentCount) {
if (currentCount == null || currentCount == 0) {
community['star_count'] = 1;
return 1;
} else {
community['star_count'] = currentCount + 1;
return currentCount + 1;
}
});
// Update the list of users who starred.
communityRef.child('/star_users/' + app.user.username).set(true);
}
// Replace the community in the observed list w/ our updated copy.
communities.removeWhere((oldItem) => oldItem['alias'] == community['alias']);
communities.add(community);
communities.sort((m1, m2) => m1["updatedDate"].compareTo(m2["updatedDate"]));
communities = toObservable(communities.reversed.toList());
print(communities);
}
There's also some other craziness where we have to get the list of communities again when app.changes because we only load app.user after the app and list initially load, and now that we have the user we need to turn on the appropriate stars. So my attached() looks like:
attached() {
app.pageTitle = "Communities";
getCommunities();
app.changes.listen((List<ChangeRecord> records) {
if (app.user != null) {
getCommunities();
}
});
}
There, it seems I could just be getting the stars and updating said each affected community Map, then repopulating the observed communities List, but that's the least of it.
The full thing: https://gist.github.com/DaveNotik/5ccdc9e74429cf87d641
How can I improve all this Map/List management, e.g. where every time I change a community Map, I have to rewrite the whole communities List? Should I be thinking of it differently?
What about all this querying Firebase? Surely, there's a better way, but it seems I need to do a lot to keep it realtime, and also the element gets attached and detached, so it seems I need to run getCommunities() each time. Unless the OOP way is objects get created, and they're always there to be observed whenever the element is attached? I'm missing those fundamentals.
This app.changes business to handle the case where we load the list before we have the app.user (which then means we want to load her stars) - is there a better way?
Other ridiculousness?
Big question, I know. Thank you for helping me get a handle on the right approach as I move forward!
I think there is two different ways to choose, if you want to keep a data of your application in real time sync with server database:
1 Polling (pull method ie. a client pulls the data from server)
Application polls ie. requests the updated data from the server. Polling can be automatic (for example with interval of 60s) or requested by user (= refresh). The short automatic interval will cause high load on server and with long interval you lose real time feeling.
2 Full-duplex (push method ie. server can push the data to the client)
An application and a server have full-duplex connection in between and server is able to send the data or a notification of the data available to the client. Then the client can decide whether or not to retrieve the data.
This method is a modern one, because it'll keep the net traffic and the server load in minimum and yet providing a real time updates.
The firebase boasts with this kind of updates, but I'm not sure is it full-dublex or just a clever way of polling. Websocket protocol is a real full-duplex connection and dart server supports it.
The updated data from a server can include:
1 A full dataset
Basically the server sends a full dataset (=initial query) and the server doesn't "know" anything about updated data. This is easiest way to go, if you have reasonable small datasets. Many times you'll have a very small datasets among the big ones, so this way can be useful.
2 A dataset including a new data only
The server can send a dataset based on modified timestamp ie. every time a record in the database changes, a timestamp for update will be saved and the query can be filtered based on this timestamp. In other words application knows when it has last updated the data and then requests newer data.
3 A changed record
A server keeps a track of updated data and sends it to the application. The data can be sent record by record when changes occurs or server can collect the data for a bigger chunks to be sent. This method requires a server to keep a track of every client connected in order to send a correct data to each client. When you add an authentication process for clients ie. not every data can be send to all, it can get quite complicated.
I think the easiest way is to use the method number 2 for updated data.
Last thing...
What to do with the data received?
1 Handle everything as a new
If application receives an updated data, it will destroy/clear all the lists and maps and recreate/refill them with the new data. Typical problems with this are a user loses a current position on a page or the data user were looking jumps around. If application has modified or extended an old data for some reason, all those modifications will be lost. This method works ok, if a user requests a refresh.
2 Update only the changed data
The application never clears initial list or maps, it just updates them with a new received data. Typically you will construct a new combined map from queried data for your specific need (for example a certain view). The combined map has already all information you want to show in the specific view (default values even if the initial queries didn't had the data for the field) and you just update a new values in it.
If the updated information needs a new member in the list you just add it in the end.
If the updated information requires a deletion from the list, it might be a good thing to use extra field "active" and filter the list/map with it. With filtering you won't lose any referencies or so.
If you need to sort a data or filter it, it should be done by a view or user request. Basically the data is stored in the application and updated as needed. When a user needs to see the data in a specific way, the view should show the data a proper way. This is called model-controller-view and the main idea is to separate the data from the view.
I'm sorry this long answer didn't answer any of your questions, but I tried to cut this challenge to a smaller chunks. Many times you can see an interface between these chunks and you can design and organize your code nicely by using these interfaces.
I want to use the following method to flag people in the Person table so that they can be processed. These people must be flagged as "In Process" so that other threads do not operate on the same rows.
In SQL Management Studio the query works as expected. When I call the method in my application I receive the row for the person but with the old status.
Status is one of many navigation properties off of Person and when this query returns it is the only property returned as a proxy object.
// This is how I'm calling it (obvious, I know)
var result = PersonLogic.GetPeopleWaitingInLine(100);
// And Here is my method.
public IList<Person> GetPeopleWaitingInLine(int count)
{
const string query =
#"UPDATE top(#count) PERSON
SET PERSON_STATUS_ID = #inProcessStatusId
OUTPUT INSERTED.PERSON_ID,
INSERTED.STATUS_ID
FROM PERSON
WHERE PERSON_STATUS_ID = #queuedStatusId";
var queuedStatusId = StatusLogic.GetStatus("Queued").Id;
var inProcessStatusId = StatusLogic.GetStatus("In Process").Id;
return Context.People.SqlQuery(query,
new SqlParameter("count", count),
new SqlParameter("queuedStateId", queuedStateId),
new SqlParameter("inProcessStateId", inProcessStateId)
}
// update | if I refresh the result set then I get the correct results
// but I'm not sure about this solution since it will require 2 DB calls
Context.ObjectContext().Refresh(RefreshMode.StoreWins, results);
I know it is an old question but this could help somebody.
It seems you are using a global Context for your query, EF is designed to retain cache info, if you allways need fresh data must use a fresh context to retrieve it. as this:
using (var tmpContext = new Contex())
{
// your query here
}
This create the context and recycle it. This means no cache was stored and next time it gets fresh data from database not from cache.