# Effective Methods for Updating Data in Firebase Realtime DB
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Chapter 1: Understanding the Challenge
In this article, we aim to share a challenge we encountered and the solution we discovered. Recently, we introduced a log section on our website, allowing users to access all our articles in one place—previously, we redirected them to our Medium page.
Problem Overview
Shortly after launching this feature, we faced difficulties in updating our articles, whether it was to add new content, include additional links, or make other adjustments. Here’s a breakdown of the issue:
- Each article is stored in the Firebase Realtime Database.
- Each article contains a key labeled "data" that holds the article's content.
- In the future, we might only need to update a specific key within the article object, or we may need to adjust the data itself.
Solution Approach
There are various ways to tackle this issue, and while we don’t claim our solution is the ultimate one, we are continuously learning and believe that growth is always possible.
One effective method we've considered is utilizing the set method offered by the Firebase database object.
What is the Set Method?
The set method is designed to update values in the database, and if certain values do not exist, it will create them. However, it’s essential to note that using the set method will replace any existing key-value pairs in the object.
Cautionary Note
For instance, consider an object containing two key-value pairs: "email" and "password." If you intend to update only the password without altering the email, it can be quite tricky. When you use the set method to update the password, it may seem that it should only modify the password key, leaving the email intact.
Unfortunately, the set method behaves contrary to this expectation; it removes any existing keys not included in the update. Thus, if you only pass the new password, the email key will be deleted.
This cautionary example highlights a mistake we made, and we hope this article prevents you from encountering the same issue.
How to Effectively Update Values
To successfully update a value, we will still use the set method, but we will include all necessary key-value pairs as parameters. In our case, this means providing the existing email and the updated password, ensuring both values are included in the set method.
If you have alternative solutions, please share them in the comments!
Conclusion
We hope this article conveys our intended message effectively. Stay tuned for more insights, and don’t forget to subscribe for updates.
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Chapter 2: Video Resources for Firebase
To further enhance your understanding of updating data in Firebase, check out the following videos:
This video titled "How to Manually Update Data in the Firebase Realtime DB" provides an in-depth look at manual data updates within Firebase.
In the video "How to WRITE, READ, UPDATE and DELETE data with Firebase database using JavaScript," you can learn comprehensive techniques for managing data in Firebase using JavaScript.