Google Firebase Interview Questions and Answers for 10 years experience
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What are the core services offered by Firebase?
- Answer: Firebase offers a suite of integrated services including Realtime Database, Firestore, Cloud Storage, Authentication, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging, Hosting, and more. These services work together to simplify app development and management.
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Explain the difference between Realtime Database and Firestore. When would you choose one over the other?
- Answer: Realtime Database uses a single, central JSON tree for data storage, offering real-time synchronization. Firestore uses a NoSQL document database with flexible schemas and strong consistency guarantees. Choose Realtime Database for simpler applications needing real-time updates and a straightforward data structure. Choose Firestore for larger, more complex applications requiring scalability, flexible schemas, and offline capabilities.
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Describe how Firebase Authentication works. What are some of its key features?
- Answer: Firebase Authentication provides a backend service for authenticating users with various methods: email/password, phone number, social logins (Google, Facebook, etc.), and anonymous authentication. Key features include secure password management, federated identity, custom authentication providers, and easy integration with other Firebase services.
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How do you handle offline capabilities in a Firebase application?
- Answer: Firestore offers built-in offline capabilities. Data is cached locally, and changes made offline are synchronized when connectivity is restored. For Realtime Database, you'd typically need to implement a caching mechanism yourself, perhaps using a local storage solution like IndexedDB.
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Explain the concept of security rules in Firebase. How do you write effective and secure rules?
- Answer: Security rules define access control for your Firebase data. They're written in a custom language that allows you to specify who can read, write, and modify data based on user authentication and data characteristics. Effective rules are concise, granular, and follow the principle of least privilege, granting only necessary access.
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What are Cloud Functions for Firebase and how can they be used to enhance your applications?
- Answer: Cloud Functions are serverless functions that run in response to events in your Firebase project (e.g., database updates, authentication events). They allow you to execute backend logic without managing servers, handling tasks like image processing, data validation, and sending notifications.
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How does Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) work? Describe a typical use case.
- Answer: FCM is a cross-platform messaging solution that enables you to send notifications to clients. It uses a pub/sub model: your server sends messages to FCM, which then relays them to the client devices. A typical use case is sending personalized push notifications to users based on their actions or preferences.
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Describe your experience with Firebase Hosting. What are its benefits?
- Answer: Firebase Hosting is a simple and fast way to deploy and serve static web content. Its benefits include global CDN distribution, SSL certificates, custom domains, and seamless integration with other Firebase services. It's ideal for serving web apps, single-page applications, and static assets.
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How would you implement user authentication with multiple providers in Firebase?
- Answer: Firebase Authentication allows easy integration of multiple providers. The user can choose their preferred login method (e.g., Google, Facebook, email/password). Firebase handles the authentication flow, and you receive a common user profile regardless of the provider.
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Explain how to handle data updates and synchronization efficiently in a collaborative application using Firebase.
- Answer: For real-time collaboration, use Firestore's transactions or optimistic locking to ensure data consistency. Implement proper listeners to receive real-time updates and handle conflicts efficiently. Consider using document level security rules to enforce data integrity and prevent race conditions.
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How do you perform complex queries in Firestore, including nested queries and aggregations?
- Answer: Firestore doesn't directly support nested queries or complex aggregations like SQL databases. You should design your data model to minimize the need for these operations. For aggregations, you typically use Cloud Functions to process data and return aggregated results. For complex filtering, you might use multiple queries and combine the results in your client code.
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Describe your experience with Firebase's billing and cost management strategies.
- Answer: Firebase pricing is usage-based. I have experience monitoring resource consumption (database reads/writes, storage usage, function invocations), and implementing strategies to minimize costs. This includes optimizing queries, using appropriate data structures, and carefully monitoring resource usage in the Firebase console.
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