react native with firestore react query typescript part 1

Building Robust React Native Apps with Firestore, React Query, and TypeScript: Part 1 - Setting the Stage

This article delves into the powerful combination of React Native, Firestore, React Query, and TypeScript, guiding you through the initial setup and foundational concepts for building efficient and scalable mobile applications.

Why This Stack?

• React Native: Cross-platform development for iOS and Android, leveraging JavaScript's familiarity and a vast ecosystem.
• Firestore: A NoSQL database from Google Cloud Platform, offering real-time data synchronization and flexible data modeling.
• React Query: A data fetching and caching library that simplifies data management, reduces boilerplate code, and enhances user experience.
• TypeScript: A superset of JavaScript that adds static typing, improving code maintainability, readability, and error prevention.

Project Setup

1. Create a React Native Project:

   npx react-native init my-firestore-app
   

2. Install Dependencies:

   npm install firebase react-query @types/react-query
   

3. Initialize Firebase:

   • Create a Firebase project in the Firebase console.
   • Enable Firestore in your project.
   • Download the google-services.json file for Android and GoogleService-Info.plist for iOS.

4. Configure Firebase in your React Native Project:

   • Android: Place google-services.json in the android/app directory.
   • iOS: Place GoogleService-Info.plist in the ios/my-firestore-app directory.

5. Set up TypeScript:

   • Create a tsconfig.json file in the root directory of your project.
   • Configure the TypeScript compiler options as needed.

Connecting to Firestore

1. Import Firebase:

   import firebase from 'firebase/app';
   import 'firebase/firestore';
   

2. Initialize Firebase App:

   const firebaseConfig = {
     // Your Firebase configuration
   };
   
   if (!firebase.apps.length) {
     firebase.initializeApp(firebaseConfig);
   }
   

3. Access Firestore:

   const db = firebase.firestore();
   

Introducing React Query

React Query simplifies data fetching and caching, providing a streamlined approach to managing data in your React Native application.

1. Create a Query Client:

   import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from 'react-query';
   
   const queryClient = new QueryClient();
   
   // Wrap your app with QueryClientProvider
   <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
     {/* Your app components */}
   </QueryClientProvider>
   

2. Define Queries:

   import { useQuery } from 'react-query';
   
   const fetchTodos = async () => {
     const todosRef = db.collection('todos');
     const snapshot = await todosRef.get();
     return snapshot.docs.map((doc) => ({ id: doc.id, ...doc.data() }));
   };
   
   const { isLoading, error, data } = useQuery('todos', fetchTodos);
   

Next Steps

In the next part of this series, we'll dive deeper into using React Query for data fetching, caching, and mutations with Firestore. We'll explore advanced features like optimistic updates, data transformations, and error handling. Stay tuned!